


Wardens

by Thaeonblade



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Multi, Parody, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-10
Updated: 2013-09-10
Packaged: 2017-12-26 05:39:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/962244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thaeonblade/pseuds/Thaeonblade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the 40th year of the Dragon Age, Thedas is afflicted by crisis upon crisis with each becoming worst by the month.</p><p>In search for answers, Cassandra and Varric happen upon an orator who claims to have personally witnessed the story of the Warden.</p><p>Or rather...the Wardens.</p><p>Left with no other choice, the two inquisitors will have to hear out this stranger's tale and judge it's contents for itself. A tale of six individuals chosen by chance and christened through the fire of fate to unite a country torn apart by civil war and save it from a great and ancient evil.</p><p>Assuming they don't kill each other first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

As the Blight ravaged the land of Ferelden and the darkspawn horde pillaged the land at will while it's defenders fought a civil war over who would lead them, a very different kind of evil ravaged the small village of Redcliffe at nightfall. A horde of the undead, or more simply:

Zombies

No one is sure just how zombies came to plague this town, only that they came out of Castle Redcliffe during a vulnerable time. The Earl of the land and Castle had fallen ill, most of his knights had been sent to find a legendary trinket that may not exist, and few remained to defend the now practically helpless villagers in this dark hour.

Amongst those few, were six particular individuals.

***No this will not be a song fic***

_"Please just stay where you are...I will come there and save you...No one this day will harm you, if I get to you in time!"_ A scion of nobles swung himself along a rope and leapt into the chaotic battle between villager and zombie. _  
_

 _"Please stay right where you are!"_ A fireball scorched the ground in the middle of a group of zombies and incinerated them...along with a few trapped militia, _"When you run the meat gets less tender! Just lie down and surrender! Could you marinate in lime?"_

 _"For this is war!"_ A dalish warrior, scion of ancient kings, clashed his twin swords with the claymore of a zombie general before he swept his left blade under the zombie's elbow and felled it, _"It's where the strong protect the weak!"_

 _"I know not if I'll die, but how I'll try!"_ a Dwarven prince, exiled from his home, lashed his axe and swept the legs out from the sockets of the zombies he encountered, _"I'd gladly give my life for honor!"_

 _"For this is war!"_ Another dwarf, a scoundrel of surprising musical talent, shot his crossbow and whistled as it barreled through the bodies of zombies and idiot humans too dumb to duck, _"I do not care who's side I'm on!"_

 _"I'll burn a troll or home or read a tome!"_ The Mage "annointed" one of the zombies and pushed it into a mixed crowd of defenders and other zombies. He turned away and pulled out a book titled "Tevinter Spells of Force" without looking at the explosion that burst from the zombie he "annointed", _"But it was fun...to fight this war, who knew?"_

 _"Won't you please help fight this war with me."_ The noble scion stabbed both of his swords through two zombies and charged to stick two more pairs of enemies through his blades. _  
_

 _"Unbelievable sights! Indescribable feeling!"_ A young city elf girl danced amongst the zombies, her knives seamlessly carved through necks and sinew to fell her enemies and used her acrobatics to prevent any retaliatory damage, _"Soaring, Tumbling, freewheeling! Through an endless bloodless streak! This is war!"_

 _"Don't you dare close your eyes!"_ The mage yelled as he shot out a cone of frost that froze a dying militia woman along with the zombies ripping her apart. _  
_

 _"A hundred thousand stabs!/Hold your breath it gets better!"_ The city elf and noble said to one another as the girl flipped over him to kick a knife across the area into the side of the head of another enemy while the noble threw out his shield to clove through a ring of foes before it returned to his arm like a boomerang. _  
_

 _"I'm like a shooting star! I've come so far!"_ The dwarf scoundrel brought out a handaxe and threw it into another zombie then rolled over to pull it out and hack off the arm of another enemy, _"I can't go back to where I used to be!"_

_"This is war!"_

_"Every turn a surprise!"_ The Dalish prince sweeped an arrow through the head of an enemy and then pulled it out of the fallen foe and fired it into the neck of another incoming zombie. _  
_

 _"With new adversaries to crush!/Every moment it's better!"_ The Mage and Noble cried as they combined the wrath of divine and magi to demolish a large group of zombies massing at the local chantry. _  
_

 _"I'll chase them anywhere! There's time to spare!"_ The zombies were now running back to their castle, but against those six, there was no running, _"And it was fun...to share this war with you..."_

 _"This is war..."_  His battle fury fading, the dwarf prince looked over the hundreds he and the others had practically killed single-handedly.

 _"A whole new strife..."_  The Dwarven scoundrel laughed when a crossbolt broke after he plucked it out. _  
_

 _"That's where I'll be..."_ The human noble pulled his sword out of a fallen enemy and slashed to wipe off the small taint of blood on the blade. _  
_

 _"That's where we'll be..."_ The city elf told the human noble while grabbing his hand as he wiped blood from her face. _  
_

 _"A thrilling chase..."_ The Dalish prince smiled as he fired an arrow uphill and saw a felled zombie roll down the small hill. _  
_

 _"Disastrous pace..."_ The Sorcerer shot an arcane blast through the chest of a crawling zombie out of boredom. _  
_

 _"For you and...me..."_ The six turned from their carnage and listened to sounds of cheers from the helpless villagers that they had saved. _  
_

"You were singing." The defenders turned to see a frowning hornless qunari holding a jar of cookies in one hand and a his "precious" sword in the other, "Why did you sing?" ***1**

* * *

"Bullshit! That's not how it happened!"

The storyteller winced from the slap given to him by his captor, Cassandra of the Chantry Seekers.

"Excuse me miss...but I'm now under the impression that you...were...there..." The Storyteller didn't at all like that this orleisan woman had abducted him from his nice vacation from his calling and now slapped him for telling a story she wanted to her just because something was too ridiculous to be believed.

The storyteller himself wouldn't have believed if he hadn't seen it himself.

"Come now! Even the dwarf can't take this...story...seriously!" Cassandra yelled, pointing to the beardless dwarf in the seat next to the storyteller who had just stopped laughing.

"I didn't say I didn't believe him...I actually enjoyed myself." Varric Tethras admitted despite Cassandra's obvious scorn.

"I didn't bring you hear to hear legends of your companions!" Cassandra barked as she paced in front of her most recent captive, "I came to hear the truth!"

"Don't mind her, she's still peeved about her precious chantry that's all." Varric's smirk didn't fade when Cassandra practically snarled at him, "What? I can get a little revenge after the abuse you've put me through."

"Very well...perhaps I should've had you start your account at an earlier point." Cassandra admitted as she calmed down and backed away from the storyteller's seat.

"You think?" Even his surrogate father's wife wasn't as troublesome and she was orleisan too, "Never mind...the earliest I could start would be Ostagar, you'd have to talk the First Warden to get the finer details of their origins."

* * *

**Transitional Narrative**

N- "Well...not that this isn't common knowledge, but I'll go ahead and tell you the whole story. You see, the darkspawn had a huge party down in the Deep Roads. They like to invite the dwarves, but they never come willingly after the darkspawn overran most of the dwarven empire during the first blight. So one day, a darkspawn decided to take their party to the surface because the Deep Roads can get boring after a while."

V- "Tell me about it. Why do you think I'm a surface dwarf?"

N- "I thought you were exiled?"

V- "Not that I'm complaining...continue..."

N- "Right...oh yes! So the darkspawn went off to find a guide because darkspawn have no sense of direction. After stumbling around in the dark, he eventually found a huge cage with a sign that read: contains Fallen god of Tevinter, open at your own risk. Being the smart darkspawn it was, he decided to open the cage and try to make friends with the fallen god inside."

C- "You refer to the one they call the Architect?"

V- "Anders mentioned him...when I wasn't too annoyed to listen."

N- "Well, whoever this darkspawn was, he said something or gave the dragon a poorly baked cookie and the tevinter god got pissed, became corrupted and decided to vent all of his frustrations out on the people who may or may not have put him in that cage. So he gathered all of the other darkspawn and told them that he'd lead them to the surface for a party."

V- "He doesn't sound so bad-"

N- "As long as they killed, raped and pillaged every person they came across and left the earth black with sin and evil. It turns out though...those are the kinds of parties that darkspawn love best..."

C- "So began the Fifth Blight."

N- "Unfortunately, when the Grey Wardens, the order strictly dedicated to fighting darkspawn, told the bannorn of Ferelden that a blight had begun...they were mostly brushed off...which...was bad...there were only two dozen of us at the time and the only other sizable force happened to be stationed in a country that Ferelden just defeated to gain independence..."

V- "Politics...even Hawke couldn't stand em."

N- "You know...I think I actually saw a Hawke at Ostagar. Two of them in fact. Was Hawke a bearded man with a bladed staff-"

C- "The blight Ferelden! Tell me about the Blight!"

N- "Fine...as I was saying, there weren't many of us in Ferelden which prompted Duncan, the commander of the grey at the time to go out and find more recruits."

C- "From what I heard, your Duncan didn't find as many as he hoped."

N- "No...but he what lacked in quantity, he made up for in quality. He found...Six...of the most...insane...people...to ever...walk the ground...of Ferelden..."

V- "They were that ridiculously awesome?"

N- "Fortunately...yes."

* * *

**9:30 Dragon Age, Ostagar**

" _The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It's fitting we make our stand here, even if we face a different foe within that forest. The king's forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times, but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here. This Blight must be stopped here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall._ "

"Hold there! Duncan!" The King of Ferelden, flanked by two royal guards, called as he walked towards the bearded Commander of the Grey Wardens.

"King Cailan..." Duncan seemed delighted to see the young king, though his surprise was obvious, "I was not expecting-"

"A royal welcome? I was beginning to think you'd miss out on all the fun."

"Not if I could help it your majesty."

"Then I will have the mighty Duncan at my side after all, glorious!" The King clapsed hands with the Warden and noticed his small entourage, "The other wardens told me that you'd found a promising candidate, is this she? She certainly is lovely." The young king reached out and grabbed the hand of the beautiful blond lady behind Duncan, causing the young lady, only two years from twenty, to profusely blush.

"My lord...I..." The girl shakingly took back her hand and ran behind her other companion. An oddly dark-skinned young man in his early twenties with shaved black hair and a faded goatee wearing commemorative armor.

"Your majesty, you might not remember us...but I am Revan." The young man greeted with a bow, "And this is my sister, Shatele of House Cousland."

"Wait! I remember you know lad! How you've grown..." To Revan's surprise, the King pulled him into a crushing hug. Revan could've sworn that he felt a back muscle get torn by the king's armor before he was released, "Perhaps we should clash swords again after this victory..."

"With respect, those with big swords are often compensating for pure skill." Revan smirked, only with King Cailan could someone poke fun at his skill and not be horribly and publically mutilated for it. Despite the king's eagerness and relative newness to kingship, he was clearly a man who could match the greatest of knights and win.

"Is this the point where I roll on the ground and laugh?" The King's attention was turned to the light blue haired elf leaning against the entryway. She was pretty for an elf, but her clothing was slightly ripped and Cailan could've sworn that he saw a blood stain on the torso.

"Why'd ya interrupt them? I was gettin a chuckle out of listening..." The king then noticed a dwarf sitting in the middle of the road, loading a crossbow.

"Oh my...are you all..." The king wasn't sure how, but he had completely missed the rest of Duncan's entourage.

"With the exception of Lady Shatele, all present are recruits for the Grey Wardens..." Duncan explained while the king marveled, "If you would do the honors, Revan."

"Lily Tabris of the Denerim elves," The young "Cousland" said pointing out the seemingly unfriendly elf girl, "Brosca Gimli and Aeducan Durin from Orzammar," The dwarf with his crossbow waved while a more solemn looking dwarf with a longer beard and an axe on his back slightly bowed, "Gilead of the Dalish Clan of Mahariel," The black haired elf who was oddly without a tattoo common for dalish nodded his head. Revan meanwhile looked confused, "Where is Amell?"

"You called?" A mage-garbed man caused Revan to jump and the king to pause when he appeared behind the young "cousland" and the king noticed he was carrying a rabbit.

Scorched from a deliberate overuse of fire magic.

"Did that rabbit happen to have caused the death of a friend?" The King asked in curiosity.

"No...but it does remind me of when I killed my-" It looked like the mage just realized who he was speaking to, he dropped the rabbit and started shaking the king's hand, "You must the king! Amell Mairon, but Mairon will do just fine."

"A...pleasure..." The King quietly wrenched his hand from the mage's and barely surpressed a gag when he saw that his gauntlet was covered in blood from the mage's hand, "An interesting group, allow me to be the first to welcome you all to Ostagar."

"Save your false courtesy, human..." Lily answered with uncovered disdain as Cailan placed his right hand behind his back and had a royal guardsman clean it off.

"I...see you've...had a long road..." Cailan could tell that there was more to than that, but he wanted to make a good impression, "I'm sure you all miss home..."

"Under constant watch from blood-thirsty templars and annoyingly preachy senior enchanters? I love it out here..." Mairon's apparent celebration was stopped when a passing soldier stopped and stared at Richard and the burnt rabbit on the ground before the mage. The mage bugged out his eyes and said an incoherent word as the soldier's eyes widened and darkened and he started running away panickly screaming about rats and spiders.

The rest of the group looked at Mairon questionably to say the least, "He bothered me."

"I got kicked out for helping to rig a proving and killing the leader of an underground crime organization after he double-crossed me..." Gimli related before spitting on the ground.

"I fight to atone for the death of my brother." Durin stated solemnly as he brushed his beard with his hand.

"I seek to cure the affliction in my veins that already claimed one of my clan." Galad explained with lingering sorrow belonging to someone who'd lost a comrade.

"And I was booted out for killing a noble man's son after he abducted me during my wedding, raped my cousin along with his jolly men, killed my groom-to-be and one of my bridesmaids and I'm not sure if the castle is clean after the trail I left..." Lily looked down and turned a gold ring on her finger as everyone but Mairon and Duncan stared at her with sheer shock.

"Wha...what?" Along with the shock from that last story, Cailan was amazed at all he had heard from these five recruits.

"Suffice to say, your majesty...there are events in Ferelden that may have passed your notice." Duncan's words couldn't have been any more of an understatement.

"Apparently..." Cailan marshalled himself, as king it was duty to maintain a strong front for his people, "Whatever your reasons, let me say that all of you are welcome here. The Grey Wardens are pivotal to the defense of our fair land and every member is respected with all my heart...regardless of their origins."

"You gonna eat that rabbit?" Gimli realized he'd have competition when he noticed Cousland's dog go up to sniff the rabbit. Seeing a Mabari hound turn down a free meal with apparent fear, made the dwarven outcast have second thoughts, "Nevermind, I don't want it now..."

"Your majesty...I have grave news to report...concerning my father..." Shatele began but stopped and let out a barely surpressed whimper.

"Your brother Fergus arrived a few days ago but...he said your father would be delayed-"

"He is dead." Revan finished for his sister as he grabbed and lightly squeezed her hand, "Tim Cur- I mean Rendon Howe has shown himself as a traitor and killed everyone at Cousland Castle..."

"How...how could he do that?" Of all times to cause trouble, Cailan could not believe that Howe would do such a thing in the middle of a blight, "I swear on my father's name that when this is over, I shall turn my forces to Amaranthine and make Howe pay for this treachery!"

"How exactly will he pay?" Revan looked as though he would not like for Howe to merely be imprisoned the king could see that. Men were imprisoned when they committed crimes; Hounds were muzzled until they behave but not dogs. Revan regarded Howe as one would a mad dog.

Dogs were put down.

"He will hang." The King stated to the young Cousland siblings, "You have my word, this treachery will not go unanswered."

"Thank you..." Shatele said with sadness and gratitude, "My lord...about our brother-"

"I'm sure you wish to see him, my lady..." Cailan placed a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder, "But he and his unit are out scouting and will not return until the battle is concluded...I wish I could help more but there is nothing I can do."

"It is no problem, my lord." Revan stated, "I am...not in a hurry to relay this to Fergus anyhow..."

"I know what is like to lose a father," Cailan placed his other hand on Revan's shoulder, he knew of their pain...he still missed his own father who died at sea five years ago, "For now...I suggest that you vent your grief towards the darkspawn we will soon face."

"As shall I." Durin stated as he drew out his axe and bent down to a knee, "I may be little more than dirt, but I promise that this axe will be blackened with blood of the foes I slay."

"For every wound they gave Tamlen, you shall hear my bow sing." Galad pulled out his bow and held it pointing to Cailan but did not bow. Never again would the Dalish bend or submit to any human lord.

"If you don't mind, then I'll pretend every darkspawn I see is a human..." Lily said as she walked up to the group and drew the eyes of every human present, "Or would you prefer that vent on all of you?"

"If you don't mind, I'll just be on the walls watching your backs." Gimli said but before Durin could ask how the outcast planned to cover their backs from a wall, a bird, charred from lightning magic fell behind Cailan.

"Damn bird!" Based on the static electricity in Mairon's hand, everyone could clearly see who the bird-slayer was, "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"You're uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces should be here in less than a week." Duncan reported to the king, hoping that a change in topic would settle the king.

"Eamon just wants in on the glory!" The king turned from the entourage and walked a few feet away as he spoke, "We've won three battles against the darkspawn already and tomorrow shall be no different."

"Ah...The blight's already over?" Mairon asked with disappointment.

"I ain't complaining..." Gimli's words were felt or thought by the other recruits.

"I'm not even sure this is a real blight." Cailan confessed rather dismissively, "There are plenty of darkspawn...but alas, no sign of the Archdemon."

"Disappointed, your majesty?"

"I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god..."

"Careful what ya wish for surfacer..." Gimli said and was hit on the head by the flat of Durin's axe.

"But...this will have to do." Cailan turned back and bowed to the recruits. "I hate to cut this short, but I must speak with Loghain...no doubt to bore me with his strategies...Farewell, Grey Wardens."

"He refers to strategy as boring," Galad mused as the young gold-armored king walked away, "I think I'll go on a limp and say that...he shall not pass thirty years."

"Could you at least pretend to respect your king?" Revan asked, offended at Gilead's words.

"He is not my king, shemlen." The dalish elf shot back also offended.

"Regardless...he is a king and should be treated with all due respect..." Durin stated to the elf.

"Are you quite finished with your childish argument?" The three warriors turned to see an annoyed Duncan, a nervous Shatele, a confused dog, a chuckling Gimli and a more annoyed Lily. "What the king said is true...They have won several battles against the darkspawn here."

"Yet, you are not reassured..." Revan noticed.

"Then again, he didn't take any of it too seriously anyway..." Lily also observed.

"Is there a chance that this truly isn't a blight?" Gimli would love to just leave this place if he wasn't needed. Duncan simply motioned to the recruits and led them along through the ruins of Ostagar.

"Despite the victories, the darkspawn horde grows with each passing day...by now they look to outnumber us."

"We wouldn't want this to be too easy, would we?" Revan boasted which caused Lily to roll her eyes.

"I would." Aeducan rolled his eyes at the cowardice of the casteless Brosca. What Duncan saw in this fool was beyond the former noble.

"I know that there is an archdemon behind this. But I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

"How great has the danger grown?" Gilead asked the warden commander.

"As I said, there is no denying that a blight is upon us Gilead."

"If he weren't such a fool maybe-" Lily stopped when she felt and noticed the sharp glare that the cousland shemlen gave her, "Is that supposed to scare me shemlen?"

"Be mindful of your company, my lady..." Revan lightly warned.

"What would you have him do, Duncan?" Durin asked the warden commander.

"Wait...await the reinforcements promised from Redcliffe and the Grey Wardens from Orleis."

"Orleisans! Are you jesting me?" Revan asked in outrage, "They'd just as likely retake Ferelden! Father would roll in his grave..."

"Remember Revan, a Grey Warden sacrifices all other ties and bonds for the sake of ending the blight." Despite his own feelings, Revan breathed and calmed down when he realized that Duncan was right...even if they were bloody orlesians, "Besides...the wardens in Orleis are just the same as us."

"Only...Orleisian! With ridiculous accents and stupid looking hats!" Everyone paused at Mairon's spontanious rant, not that he wasn't right but how he also said it in a mock orleisan accent, "I thought we didn't like the Orleisans?"

"With everything proceeding the way it is, we must commence with the ritual immediately."

"Ritual?" Mairon stirred at Duncan's statement, "Does this involve the shedding of fresh blood?" Everyone's breath grew chill at the idea of a blood ritual.

"Nothing quite so drastic..." Everyone exhaled in belief while Mairon snapped his fingers in disappointment, "It is brief, but necessary and preparation is required."

"Surely there others besides ourselves?" Gimli knew for a fact that when walking into a situation that doesn't guarantee survival, always bring a meat shield.

"There are two others in fact." Duncan assured the dwarf as they came to the bridge connecting the two halves of upper Ostagar, "Feel free to explore the camp, but I ask that none of you leave it for the time being. When you are ready, seek out Alistair and inform him that it is time to gather the other recruits and begin the ritual."

"What exactly does this ritual-"

"It is dangerous, but all will be told in due time, Lily," The city elf still looked distrustful but Duncan paid it little heed, "The Grey Warden tent is on the other side of this tent, you will find us there should you need to."

"Shatele...take Rabbit and stay with Duncan for now." The young girl didn't look like she wanted to separate from her "brother", but she nodded her head.

"Be careful brother." She kissed her "brother" on his cheek and ran after Duncan with the mabari hound following behind.

"You're sister's gotta a nice shaped-" Gimli stopped when he felt the cold steel of one of Cousland's swords against his face. "I get it, mate...off limits...I get it..." The human sheathed his sword and started walking but stopped when he saw that the city elf was also about to cross the bridge.

"Cousland." This human, Lily regarded him as though he were an insect that needed to be crushed. Not only did he look like he didn't belong around here, he also sucked up to that fool like a sick little puppy. This man probably never had to go a day without worrying about his next meal because servants were worked to death to give him a lavish dinner.

Elven servents.

"Lady Tabris." Revan was courtious as his mother would have wanted, but inwardly he dreaded the glare with which the elf gave him. It was different from Mahariel, the Dalish elf was proud of his culture and was making it clear of how much he hated humans for taking away the Dales. He was represented the culture he grew up in, but Tabris was another story. A story that could be summed up in one word,

Hate.

"Elf." Gimli was casual, he had never seen an elf up close before. Mahariel was the first elf he'd ever met and as the two stood looking at each other, Brosca had a feeling that this guy might grow on him. For one, this guy stood out. Most other elves were either skinny like that blue haired chick or had a meek little backbone so that they ate whatever shit these humans spat in their hands. Gilead was clearly different, he was muscular for an elf but he didn't have any tattoes.

Weren't Dalish supposed to have those?

"Dwarf." Mairon couldn't believe how short these dwarves were. By all accounts, Mairon figured that they shouldn't be around. That long ago, the Maker had a helper who got impatient because humans weren't around yet so they carved out their own figurines. Then the Maker decided to throw them in, make them short and cut them off from magic as some sick joke.

At least they had cool beards.

"Sorcerer." Magic was something that Durin had only heard of from stories and fairy tales. Not at all like the factual tales of demons that occupied the deep roads, corrupted dragons that led darkspawn to the surface, or the legions of stone that were lost to the centuries. Now here stood next to him a human mage robed with a single black braid running down his back. There was also a glow within his eyes.

Was that the glow of magic?

"Thank you." Amell told Aeducan, either not caring or not knowing that the dwarf meant to insult him, "That axe must make battles bloody, no?"

"Why in fact they do!" The dwarf's face lit up at the praise of his axe, "Least I have found a mage who acknowledges the strength of the dwarves."

"If you die, can I have it?" Mairon asked to which the former dwarf lord laughed, "Oh wait...I'll just take it."

"Nah! I already called dibs, that axe is a fortune by itself!" Gimli yelled over to the two.

"Typical of dwarves, thinking only of wealth." Galad mused with a mocking smile.

"Well maybe if you soddin elves thought a bit like me then you wouldn't be a bunch of poor drifters." Gimli shot back, the dalish elf huffed his nose and started across the bridge to rid himself of that dwarf's presence.

"They look like they're getting along." Revan laughed while he and Lily watched the other four recruits separate as they crossed the bridge, "You'd think with the impeding plague of darkness about to swallow us whole that we'd all join hands and become friends for a few years."

"Perhaps we are run by fools, Cousland." Tabris answered the human, "Sadly, they are the majority of your kind."

"What do you mean, my kind?"

"Humans. What else would I mean?"

"Nice to meet you too!" Revan called as he watched the city elf walk away. The look in her eyes, one wrong move and she would make good on cleaning out another noble house, "Then again, I'm surprised I'm not as bitter as her right now..."

* * *

**Present Day/9:40 Dragon Age, Location Unknown**

"Wow! I've gotta hand it to ya, you sure know how to start a tale fellow captive..."

"So yeah, they weren't in the mood to be on their best behavior with the king." The story-teller lightly chuckled despite Cassandra's unchanged disapproval, "Given what happened to them though, I'm not surprised."

"An elf of the city embittered towards humans," The Seeker said more to herself than to her two captives, "A dalish elf who seeks salvation from the taint, two dwarven exiles from opposite ends of their caste system, an scion of a murdered noble family, and...a very particular mage taken from the circle of magi."

"So you're probably wondering why they didn't end the blight at Ostagar, right?" The Ferelden native asked with a smile that soon faded, Varric knew why, "This next part...it's not east to tell..."

"Take your time my friend." Varric leaned back and thought back to how the both of them had lost a brother in some way to the blight, "Not like she's letting me leave anyway."

"I'm right here you know." Cassandra crossed her arms and waited for her newest captive to continue the tale of the "heroes of Ferelden".

"Damn Orleisans." The man mumbled under his breath but seeing Varric nervous smirk and Cassandra's narrowed eyes, he realized that she had just heard him, "Oh sod."


	2. Ostagar: Camp Interactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The recruits explore the camp and their motivations for becoming Wardens.

**King's Camp**

King Cailan of Ferelden walked through the camp of his army, feeling somewhat frustrated about his meeting with Loghain. So what if he was enthusiastic about Grey Wardens? So what if Cailan was tempted to make every grey warden an honorary captain of his army? So what if he was going to divorce Anora and marry the Empress of Orleis?

Actually, Cailan could understand the last part.

But he was pulled from his thoughts by a beautiful song weaved from three different instruments. Captivated, Cailan followed the faint sounds through the camp until he came upon the musicians.

Gimli and Gilead from earlier had joined their guitar and harp with the flute of another one of Duncan's recruits, Daveth from a village somewhere here in the wilds.

"Oh my! A song!" Cailan jumped up like a little boy as he neared the trio, "Please continue, grey wardens! I love songs."

"I was just playing music to pass the time..." Daveth said.

"I didn't have nothing better to do." Brosca admitted.

"You like my harpwork?" Gilead was cautiously grateful for Cailan's complement, "I am hardly a minstrel..."

"To be honest, you play as well as the court choir back at home." Cailan further complemented, "Come! Sing me a song for the upcoming battle."

"Can I join in?" Cailan nearly lost balance from the shock of Mairon's surprise question. When did Mages learn the ability to be stealthy?

"Of course Warden Amell!" Cailan encouraged, it wasn't uncommon for mages to use subtle magic to enhance their musical abilities. But Cailan couldn't care less, he was in a dreadful mood and even king's needed their morale to be lifted once in awhile.

Thus the Mage sang:

" _Bravely Bold King Cailan...went forth to Ostagar..."_

_"He was not afraid to die! Oh brave King Cailan!"_

_"He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways."_

_"Brave! Brave! Brave! Brave King Cailan!_ "

"Come now..." Cailan was amused at how much the mage sang of his apparent bravery. He was just doing his job.

" _He wasn't at all the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp._

"What?"

_"Or to have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken._ "

" _To have his kneecaps split and his body burned away!"_

_"And his limbs all hacked and mangled brave King Cailan._ "

" _His head smashed in and his heart cut out"_

_"His liver removed and his bowels unplugged!"_

_"His nostrils raped and his buttom burned off! And his penis-_ "

"That's...That's quite enough music for now lads!" Cailan nervously laughed, not because of the song itself but from the images that played through his head as the mage sang. Images directly reflective of the mage's lyrics, "I...have duties...to attend to..." The gave his leave and left the wardens-to-be.

" _Brave King Cailan'll run away!_ "

"No!" Why he still heard Mairon's voice puzzled and horrified Cailan.

" _Bravely run away away!_ "

"I won't..." He slowly felt his pace increase.

" _When darkspawn rear their ugly heads he'll bravely make his trousers wet!_ "

"No!" Did the mage cast a spell on him as a joke?

" _Yes brave King Cailan'll turn about and valiantly he'll chicken out!_ "

"I won't!" If so, it wasn't funny.

" _Bravely taking to his feet, he'll call a very brave retreat!_ "

"Shut up!" Now Cailan was going into a full sprint through the camp. Drawing the eyes of onlooking soldiers.

" _Bravest of the brave, King Cailan!_ "

"I'll never!" Cailan made a quiet note to himself to send the mage on the most dangerous assignment he could think of when he had the chance.

* * *

C- "The way you tell of this...mage...What did the wardens ever see in him?"

N- "From what I was told, the man passed his Harrowing in record time."

V- "That's a feat...maybe you can tell us his story later..."

N- "I just might."

C- "When did you meet them?"

N- "Well...I meet them at Ostagar. Oh right! You want to know which one I met first, right?"

C- "Don't play stupid with me Ferelden."

V- "Just tell the tale so we can all go home. Unless she's got seekers waiting to swoop on us as soon as we leave."

N- "Right...swooping is...bad..."

* * *

**Loghain's Tent**

"Yes what is it?" The Teryn of Gwaren half-expected another messenger from his son-in-law. Instead, his guard pointed him to an armored man who respectfully bowed his head.

"Teryn Loghain, Revan Cousland at your service." The boy stated.

"Oh yes...your Bryce's boy." Loghain hadn't been to Highever since a year before Maric's death, but he remembered his fellow teryn's children, "I don't recall seeing you since you were a pup..."

"I get that a lot." Revan slightly chuckled, "By the way, this is late but congratulations for your daughter's marriage to the king."

"I only hope that I don't live to regret that union." It was almost scary how much Revan read that the Teryn wasn't kidding."

"I doubt it...father always said that father's always hate the man their daughter marries..." The young man's smile faded, memories of his wounded father, sprawled on the floor in a pool of his own blood begging him to leave him. Revan's fist tightened from the memory and the pain, it was far too near still.

"The news of Bryce's death saddened me, Revan." Loghain placed an armored hand on Revan's shoulder, "I fought alongside him during the war, he was as noble and true a Ferelden than we could've asked him to be. I assure you, Howe will come to justice for this; if Cailan has trouble coming through on his promise then I'll gut the bastard myself."

"It...won't bring of them..." Revan's arm shook as the young man suddenly felt a tear slip out of his eye. There were more to be sure, but how could he break down? Not in front of the Teryn, not when a blight was on there doorstep and especially not when his sister was looking to him...he had to be strong.

"Don't bother holding your tears boy...it's wasted strength." Revan was so lost in his grief, he was surprised when Loghain pulled him into a one armed hug. "I know your pain...my father was killed before my eyes...as was my mother...but I knew that they would've wanted me to carry on. Even when gone, a parent never leaves their child."

"Sir...are you sure this is...I mean...look at him..." Loghain released the boy and turned to his guard. No doubt, the man had an opinion about Bryce having a son that not only looked like him but seemed more akin to a Kohen from the Anderfalls.

"I see no less than a proud son of Ferelden." Loghain stated, causing the young man to smirk with solemn appreciation, "I understand you will be joining the Grey Wardens."

"For the good of our country, Teryn." Revan answered, now lifted out of his stupor by the encouragement and support of one of Ferelden's finest heroes, "I'd go to the Deep Roads themselves if I could kill all the darkspawn there."

"No doubt, you'll be in the thick of battle if Cailan has his way." Revan could sense it in the man's tone, something about the king had rubbed Loghain wrongly, "Do not take offense, but I do not share his enthusiasm for the Grey Warden Order."

"I thought he was just faking it for an impression." Revan figured that leaders sometimes had to appear fearless for the sake of the troops. His father had been the same way.

"Maric was the same way..." Loghain admitted as if recalling memories himself, "He was the one who allowed the Grey Wardens back into Ferelden twenty years ago."

"Afraid of a repeat of Sophia Drydain?" Revan had been told about Sophia's revolt at Soldier's Peak. Despite holding well against all of the Ferelden's army, she and the grey wardens with her were overrun and killed to the last man by King Arland. Who was especially popular with the Cousland House.

"King Arland's actions speak for themselves as do those of Drydain's." Loghain answered, "But remember...Maric respected the Grey Wardens and they have an honored place in the hearts of our people. Yet he knew it would take more than legends to win a battle."

"I felt the King understands the threat well enough." Revan lightly countered as to not offend Loghain, "I might be wrong, but is it not the duty of King's to stand oblivious to fear to strengthen morale?"

"There is a sharp difference between the fearless and courageous." Loghain bluntly countered, "The Courageous acknowledge their fear and face it head on. The Fearless, are too proud to admit when it is okay to be afraid. Fear drives us child."

"Doesn't fear also grow into anger and then hatred that blinds us from the edge of suffering?" Revan had recently felt the very cycle he'd stated. Back in Highever, he was afraid...then he became angry and now hated Howe. Enough that all the suffering in the world upon that man would not ease the raging wound in Revan's heart.

"If allowed to grow to that point, yes." Loghain paused and walked out from the tent a little ways, "Tell me, what do you fear?" The young Cousland followed Loghain's direction, following the Teryn's gaze into the camp. Revan spotted his sister playing catch with Rabbit, she was still wearing the same dress she'd barely grabbed in time from their escape and she was happy. Happy as though nothing had happened.

Revan wished he could do the same.

"Do not turn from that fear." Revan heard Loghain state, "Allow it to propel you into the jaws of an open trap. Spring the trap. The faces of your foes when they see that your greatest weakness has only made you stronger...I have very fond memories of them."

"Did they curse at you with those stupid accents?" Loghain chuckled knowing to whom Revan referred, "I did not wish to take up your time, by your leave Teryn Loghain."

"I wish you the best, Revan Cousland." Loghain and Revan nodded to each other as Revan turned to leave the Teryn to his affairs, "Also, do pray our king proves amenable to wisdom, if you're the praying sort."

"There are those who call him a fool." Revan was not one of them, but did not discount the possibility that the king was taking the upcoming battle too lightly, "What if they are right?"

"Then simply...pray..." Revan said nothing as the Teryn returned to his tent, leaving him to ponder what the hero of the River Dane had told him.

* * *

V- "That's not the usual account I get on Teryn Loghain."

N- "Well...my views on the man would color the story so I'm simply sticking to the facts."

C- "Facts such as actions taken by your comrades before the battle?"

N- "About those..."

* * *

**Mage Camp**

"Hold there! The mages are not to be disturbed!" Aeducan regarded the armored guard with curious intent. Durin had seen human armor before, but never had he seen the ornate T-visor helms of these humans guarding the meditating mages.

"Are you their guards?" Durin asked, feeling further intrigued by the tough-looking armor.

"You could say that..." The guard seemed uncomfortable with the comparison as a personal guard, "You must be new to the surface dwarf."

"I am, my name be Durin, lad." Durin stayed tame, but name's existed for a reason, "Just so you don't call me dwarf."

"Apologies..." The guard rubbed the top of his helm, "We're not normal soldiers, we're templars."

"What would that be?" Durin had heard his father speak of these "templars" before, but this was the first time he had ever seen one.

"A templar is a soldier trained under the Chantry to oversee the Circles of Magi." The Templar explained, "According to Chantry Law, magic is meant to serve man instead of dominate him."

"Fair enough." As stupid as the worship of chants were to the dwarves, Durin was courteous enough to listen to what the the human had to say.

"We also hunt down and either capture or kill maleficarum." The templar further elaborated, "Mages outside of the Chantry's law and therefore more prone to demonic possession."

"So you regulate mage affairs to protect them from demonic spirits?" The templar nodded his head as Durin's curiosity only increased, "How exactly do you do that? You don't seem any different from any other soldier."

"We are trained in divine arts and lyrium usage to cancel out magic." A thought suddenly occurred to Durin that he couldn't help but follow.

"I see..." Durin careful gathered his thought in the best way he could word it, "So you are magic knights?"

"No..." The guard's annoyance from earlier now returned, "We use lyrium to enhance our arts specifically tailored towards countering illegal magic..."

"So you use magic to fight magic?" Durin just couldn't understand how non-magic warriors could possibly hope to counter magic.

"No..." The Templar's annoyance had now grown to slight anger, "We are chosen by the maker to hunt and weed out those who would use magic to harm others."

"By using magic." Again, the dwarf had heard nothing that said templar's didn't use some branch of magic themselves.

"What are you getting at dwarf?" Now the templar was angry to the point of tapping his sheathed sword with his fingers.

"First, I already told you my name, it would be courteous for you to use it." Durin reminded the templar, "Second, how is it that you can use lyrium? As far as I know, only mages have any use for lyrium potions to replenish their mana."

"That's because-"

"Also, only mages usually have the mental focus necessary to use magic and templar's require the same to counter mages, no?"

"We serve the Maker-"

"What better would be used to counter a demon possessed mage than a knight trained in magic?"

"It is not-"

"How do templars know what lies beyond the fade unless they've seen it with their own eyes?"

"We are taught-"

"And only mages are known to be conscious in this place you call the fade." Durin didn't need to see the templar's face to know that he was pissed, "How do you know that demons exist?"

"Dwarf...I've seen them-"

"Yes! And only magic users usually see demons, no?" An almost feral growl was heard from under the Templar's helmet, "Call it whatever you want, all this "dwarf" sees is  **magic**."

"The Chantry forbids...the senseless murder of others..." The templar muttered to himself, trying to collect himself, "But...it doesn't say...shit about...unbelieving...drifters!" The Templar swiped out his sword, aiming to slash off the dwarf's head through his neck.

But Durin saw the attack coming and swerved around the blade, feeling the braided hair of his beard flow along with him as he drew out his axe. He spun, using momentum and balance to swing the axe in a counter attack. The axe slashed through the templar's arm and gashed into the side of his breast.

The templar gave only a single gasp as he fell into a heap on the ground. Durin grumbled when he saw the blood he'd gotten on his beard as the templar's comrades came to scene with swords drawn.

"Allow me to explain." Durin sheathed his axe to the templar's apparent puzzlement, "I killed him in self-defense after he tried to kill me because I pointed out a potential flaw in the logic that you believe magic is meant to serve man whether than master him. Yet Templars use magic-derived and lyrium enhanced abilities to impose Chantry dominance over other magic users and the common people though this seems clearly contradictive to your laws." The templars took a long look at their dead comrade on the ground, then to the dwarf who'd killed him then to each other for a good few minutes.

"Just don't speak of this and we won't." Their apparent leader said as he and the others shook their heads.

"Agreed." Durin then looked from the templars to the dead templar on the ground before him and remembered that a battle was coming, "Will you require his armor?"

* * *

**Mabari Kennels**

"There we are!" Lily felt the growl of the hound she was muzzling. It reminded her of the black one a spoiled human noble daughter sicked on her and Shianni when they were little. But this mabari, despite it's fear and pain, did not challenge Lily's attempt to muzzle her, "Sorry little fella..." She almost felt sorry for the wimpering hound as she left the kennel.

"Now I can treat the dog properly...poor fella..." The Kennel Master was holding a bloodied axe when Lily met him again, "Come to think of it, are you heading into the wilds anytime soon?

"Not sure...why?" Lily couldn't take her eyes off of the axe in the Kennel Master's hand.

"There's a particular herb I could use to improve the dog's chances." The human explained, "It's a flower that grows here in the swamps if I remember..."

"No promises..."

"If you happen across it, I could use it. It's very distinctive: all white with a blood-red center." It was so encouraging that the kennel master practically expected her to get the flower. Just like all humans.

"I'm sure the dog will be fine-"

"If he doesn't get it, he'll have to be put down." Lily had a feeling that this wasn't as horrible to him as he let on. There was almost a psychotic glee in his eyes from the idea of butchering a dog.

"I'll see if I find one." Lily wasn't going to do it for the kennel master, the dog didn't deserve to die a cruel death from the taint. Dogs are only reflections of the personalities of their masters, but as this mabari hound was, she wasn't a bad dog.

"Good. In the meantime, I'll begin treating our poor friend." Lily heard the dog wimper again when the Kennel Master glanced at it, "I'd really hate to have to put him down like her friend over there." Lily then turned back to the dog and realized that there was a recently butchered dog in the kennel next to it.

"Why don't you take it out of the-"

"And get infected by the darkspawn taint?" The way the kennel master tipped over his head really creeped Lily out.

"I'm leaving now." Tabris did just that, walking until she was far away from the kennels and somehow ended up on one of the walls overlooking the landscape. She finally saw another elf walking through the same area and walked over to him.

"Hello? I'm sorry, is there something you needed?" To her disappointment, the elf was a servant for some human lord and not someone else who'd come to fight. Where was the indomitable spirit of elvenkind now? Even the so-called Dalish weren't around and now the only elves around here were laborers and servants apart from her?

"What do you mean?" Despite her growing frustration, Lily remained calm and waited to hear what the elf had to say.

"I deliver messages around the camp. Do you have a message for me?" The elf, a little older than Lily, seemed a bit too eager about his wonderful job of messenger for the humans. It was a job, but this man didn't even try to attach any dignity.

"Yes...I do." Lily was almost mentally intrigued to see where this conversation would go.

"Then what is...oh wait! Are you the one I was to give Ser Garlen's sword to?" Lily almost told the elf that she'd never heard of Ser Garlen, until it occurred to her that a battle was about to start and she'd need more than Shianni's knife and that sword Duncan loaned her.

"Yes. The smith didn't tell you?" Lily asked, slightly hoping that the boy wouldn't be so stupid...

"Oh that's such a relief! You really saved me from the switch, for sure!" Lily signed as she took the sword from the messenger, "I'd best get back to my duties before I get into more trouble." She spat when the elf left, he had a skip in his damned step.

"The poor fool...what's the use..." What was the use of acting nice to these humans? Maybe she was just sour from having a human ruin her wedding in the worst way possible but Lily just sat on the edge of the ruined outlook of Ostagar. The wilds spanning out as far as the southern horizon. Had the elves of Arlathan ever explored as far as these wilds? Did they go further only to be lost when the Tevinter humans conquered them? History wouldn't be able to say anything, no thanks to the damned humans.

"You seem troubled young lady." Lily jumped up and turned to see a human woman in her late forties with white hair standing a little ways off against a pillar, "You are Duncan's recruit, are you not? He's not a man easily impressed, you should be proud."

"No human's impression concerns me." Seeing the old woman unphased by her intentional disrespect caught Lily off guard a bit. So she grudgingly corrected herself, "Sorry...a bit rude of me, I'm just not in the best mood..."

"Allow me to introduce myself." The old woman said, "I am Wynne, one of the mages summoned by the king."

"Lily." The elf introduced, "Are you going to take part in the battle?"

"Not directly, my skill is more oriented around support." Wynne replied, "But all areas will be crucial."

"Everyone seems to think the battle will go well." Lily remembered the bravado of that idiot was woefully their king, "Especially that...king of ours..."

"A king must remain confident in order to booster the spirits of the troops." Wynne explained, "To defeat the darkspawn, we have to work together. It's not an idea everyone seems to be able to grasp."

"Forgive me if I admit to being one of them." Lily admitted, "The humans at home don't seem any better than the darkspawn we'll be facing."

"I can...imagine why..." Wynne cautiously replied, apparently not wanting to put off Lily for some reason.

"Sure you can..." Lily couldn't believe any human would understand the life she'd lived but she decided to stay "nice" if only for the information this apparently experienced mage might have, "Enough moping from me though. I've never seen a darkspawn, have you?"

"Stragglers yes, not the vast hordes the scouts speak of." Wynne answered as Lily cringed from the thought of fighting a whole army of the legendary demons, "I wonder...how much do you know of the connection between darkspawn and the fade?"

"Used to be one of my favorite stories." Lily closed her eyes, recalling the faint traces of her mother's face. How she would always read to her, but what she read she could not remember. Until she grew older and looked through her mother's belongings, discovering a small stack of paper which Lily always read before going to bed but did not understand until she came of age:

_No matter their power, their triumphs,_  
The mage-lords of Tevinter were men  
And doomed to die.  
Then a voice whispered within their hearts,  
Shall you surrender your power  
To time like the beasts of the fields?  
You are the Lords of the earth!  
Go forth to claim the empty throne  
Of Heaven and be gods.

_In secret they worked_   
_Magic upon magic_   
_All their power and all their vanity_   
_They turned against the Veil_   
_Until at last, it gave way._

_Above them, a river of Light,_   
_Before them the throne of Heaven, waiting,_   
_Beneath their feet_   
_The footprints of the Maker,_   
_And all around them echoed a vast_   
_Silence._

_But when they took a single step_   
_Toward the empty throne_   
_A great voice cried out_   
_Shaking the very foundations_   
_Of Heaven and earth:_

_And So is the Golden City blackened_   
_With each step you take in my Hall._   
_Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting._   
_You have brought Sin to Heaven_   
_And doom upon all the world._

_Violently were they cast down,_   
_For no mortal may walk bodily_   
_In the realm of dreams,_   
_Bearing the mark of their Crime:_   
_Bodies so maimed_   
_And distorted that none should see them_   
_And know them for men._

_Deep into the earth they fled,_   
_Away from the Light._   
_In Darkness eternal they searched_   
_For those who had goaded them on,_   
_Until at last they found their prize,_   
_Their god, their betrayer:_   
_The sleeping dragon Dumat. Their taint_   
_Twisted even the false-god, and the whisperer_   
_Awoke at last, in pain and horror, and led_   
_Them to wreak havoc upon all the nations of the world:_   
_The first Blight._

"Canticle of Threnodies 8, verses 1 through 21." Wynne smiled after Lily finished, "In laymen's terms, someone tried to go where they shouldn't, got kicked out and corrupted and we're still paying the consequences to this day."

"It may be allegory explaining that it is the hubris of men that causes human suffering. Or it could be true." The mage suggested, "It is as good as any explanation, for now."

"How about I just kill every darkspawn I see?"

"A wise attitude. It's worked well for me in the past." Wynne agreed, "I enjoyed meeting you Lily, but I'm sure Duncan has more for you to do than talk to me."

"Maybe we'll chat more after this battle? Maker bless you." Lily nodded and walked away from the outlook. As she did, a human soldier rudely bumped into her and nearly knocked her off her feet. As much she'd like to turn around and throw her knife into the back of the man's head...

She'd be better off seeing how much this silver necklace she swiped would cost and buy a decent set of armor.

* * *

**Denerim Tent**

"That armor." Mairon had just "eluded" two royal guards who blamed him for their king's "fits" and now he found one of the other recruits wearing templar armor moderately tailored to be worn by the dwarf he now confronted, "When did templars start accepting dwarves?"

"If you must know, I convinced the fellows of the templar I killed that his armor would be far more useful to a grey warden-to-be than burning with it's original owner." Aeducan and Amell merely stared at one another for the longest time. With each second, Mairon's straight face grew into a gleeful smile.

"You and I, we'll get along very well..." Mairon stated as he walked past the dwarf and noticed a naked man in a cage.

"Could you help me?" The man begged after standing up and giving Mairon a sight he would've called horrible if he'd never gone through his Harrowing.

"What do you want me to do? It's not like I can blast the doors off the cage and let you escape..." Mairon acted like he was pondering and then snapped his fingers, "Oh right! I can do that!"

"Really?" The prisoner's hopes had increased from Amell's euraka moment.

"No." The man's wide smile turned into a frown, causing Mairon to smirk a little, "Why should I? You're obviously in that cage for a reason."

"I...fine, I'm a deserter, happy?"

"Then why human, should either of us waste time indulging a criminal doomed to die?" Durin asked, the dwarf had once been in the man's condition. A last request would not be beyond his power.

"Because..." The man turned as he looked around to make sure the guard wasn't watching them, "I've got something that'll make it worth your while..."

"What?" Durin asked, intrigued.

"A key..." The man stated, "Before I got arrested, I found this key to one of the Circle chests.

"As in the Circle of Magi?" Mairon's interest was now peeked in a key to a treasure belonging to his former jail.

"Yep." The prisoner answered with a faint smile "Don't...ask how I kept it out of notice..."

"If it's been where I think it's been..." Durin didn't need to finish his sentence. He was wearing armor from a man he killed sure, but a key that's been shoved up a human's...neather regions...should be treated as a poisonous object and avoided as such.

"A stolen key to a chest belonging to the circle of magi..." Mairon pondered again, the prisoner looked as if he thought the man was taughting him again, "I'll take that."

"What are you..." Mairon reached through the bars and stabbed the man in the stomach with a knife drawn from his sleeve, "Guards! Help he's-" The man was cut off when the mage palmed the prisoner's face with his other hand and fired an arcane bolt through the prisoner's head. The man fell to the floor of his cage, his remaining eye devoid of life as smoke rose out of the scorched hole in what remained of his head.

"Amell! That was unnecessary!" Durin yelled as the mage twirled the key he'd taken from the prisoner on his finger.

"Why?" Mairon enjoyed himself immensely, he'd always wanted to know what would happen if you fired an arcane bolt at point blank range.

"He was a deserter, why kill a condemned man?" Durin demanded.

"Why not? He was going to die anyway." Mairon replied lightly.

"Yes, he would've been killed by those who condemned him! Not by a blood thirsty mage who stabbed him and then shot through his face with an arcane bolt just for added measure!" As Durin fumed, Mairon's eyes focused intently on the key he'd taken.

"Do you want to know what's in the key to this chest or not?" The dwarf just shook his head, "Your loss, as a former circle mage, I believe the contents belong to me anyway."

"What's going on here..." The prisoner's apparent guard looked from the dead man in the cage then to an apathetic Mairon and then to a grumbling Durin, "Really?"

"He bothered me." The guard considered demanding what this grey warden was doing killing his prisoner. Until likely realizing that one, dead prisoner meant he was off the hook, two, the prisoner was killed by magic, three, the obvious offender was a mage.

"No skin off my bones." The guard may not have been smart, but he knew what the phrase "Too dumb to live" meant and promptly walked away without another word.

"You see? Murdering the condemned is one of the few times where murder is not a crime." Mairon pointed out to Durin.

"Just so you know. We dwarves have a natural immunity to your magic." Durin warned while reaching for his axe just to harmer the point in.

"Is the ground immune? The sky? The air?" Mairon always laughed at the thought that dwarves couldn't use magic but were also immune. That made them weaker, put aside that 1/10 chance of not having magic affect them and they're far more vulnerable than most would think.

Besides, what about the ground around them? You can make it so that they can't move. The environment? The strongest wall can be turned into a potential avalanche with enough power. What happens if you shoot a fireball at the ceiling above a platoon of dwarves? Rocks fall, they all die. What happens to a dwarf when his armor is struck by lightning? It crooks.

"There's always a way around immunities, master dwarf." Mairon flipped the key in the air and left to explore the camp further. Maybe he could learn something from that group observing a dead darkspawn.

* * *

**Smithy Tents**

"So what's your story, mates?" Daveth asked Galad and Gimli. The three hadn't really spoken to each other, Daveth had been rejected by a lovely archer and sat down to play his flute. Next thing he knew, the dwarf had sat down and played as well and then the elf joined in with his dalish harp. It was actually kind of fun.

Until The King and Mairon showed up.

"Pissed off a few people and then I got conscripted." Gimli answered.

"You too! I thought I was the only cut-purse." Daveth breathed, he was led to believe that the recruits were virtually saints compared to him, "What about you...Gilead?"

"I was infected by the taint and becoming a grey warden is my only cure." Gilead answered, flexing his hand as if he thought it was broken, "Don't worry, the arts of my people have contained it so it won't spread."

"Met the other recruits yet?" Daveth had yet to meet the newcomers. He'd seen Jory somewhere and caught a glimse of the "Cousland", but nothing more.

"That Revan guy's got a sister with a nice little bottom and I've gotta wonder if Tabris' got the same blue hair on her bush..." Gimli paused when he noticed Gilead's accusary stare, "What?"

"Between the two of you, I prefer Aeducan." Galad stated, Daveth thought it seemed harsh considering the nice little ballad they had going, "He has a proud bearing, I can trust him, unlike others..."

"I heard we got a mage." Daveth brought up to lower the tension...only to realize that it didn't work, "You guys don't like him?"

"That Amell." Gimli stated shaking, "He scares me."

"I can't imagine him kicking a puppy." Gilead mused, "He'd pick it up and drop it off a ledge just to see if it would land on it's feet."

"Why ain't there any dwarves in this camp?" Gimli brought up.

"Perhaps they are quarreling over gold back in your city?"

"Maybe they are, maybe that old sack of bones for a king crooked and the Assembly's bashing each other's brains out over who'll be king." Gimli paused when he followed Daveth and Gilead's eyes to a newcomer to their little party, "Got a problem?"

"You speak ill of your king." Aeducan accused, wearing the armor of a templar for some reason, "Don't." Sensing the rising tension, Daveth quietly snuck away and decided to make his way to Duncan's tent.

"Or what? Don't think the king cares much for what exiles to the surface have to say about him." Gimli blurted out, he was not in the mood to take any noble crap from...a noble exile... "In fact, didn't he kick you out too?"

"The King's judgement is absolute. No dwarf is above it." Aeducan slung his ax back onto his back and turned to leave, "Not even his own son."

"I sense things are amiss amongst the dwarves..." Galad pointed out much to Gimli's annoyance.

"What gave it away elf? Our little argument or the rising heat of dwarven tension?"

"We may be wanderers, but at least we know who our enemy is." The elf purposefully bumped into Brosca as he stalked off. Likely, Galad believed he had the last laugh with that last comment.

"Nice ring." Gimli said to himself as he examined the ring he'd swiped from the elf when they bumped into each other, "I would've felt bad for taking it if you hadn't said that last comment."

* * *

**Ostagar Ruins**

"I'm sorry, but I have duties to attend to." said another elf servant Galad tried to speak to. It saddened him really, he had heard stories from newcomer Pol of his "kinsmen" in the human cities. But they chosen their life of surrender and servitude, as Gilead's people had chosen to walk the earth until they found a new home to call their own.

Unlike most others of his clan, Galad had not been marked with the usual tattoos of the Dales and for that, he was sometimes ridiculed. His keeper, Marethari explained that his...lack of clan markings were a sign. A sign that perhaps a destiny was before him, one that would take him beyond the community of his clan, a destiny worthy of his ancestors of Arlathan.

If he proved worthy.

"What do you want now? Haven't Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the circle?" The black haired elf perked his ears, hearing the raised voice of a human a distance away. Galad allowed himself to smile, the increased hearing of Dalish hunters was said to be a testament that his people were recovering some of the gifts of Arlathan.

"I was just told to deliver this message from the revered mother, ser mage..." Galad heard another human say, "She requires your presence."

"What the bitch desires is of no concern to me." Coming closer to the conversation, Galad could tell that this wasn't friendly banter amongst humans, "I am busy helping the Grey Wardens...by the King's orders I might add!"

"Should I have asked her to write a note-"

"Tell the bitch I will not be harassed in this manner!" The first human seemed very harsh, irritatingly so too.

"Yes, I was harassing you by delivering a message." The second human shot back, who Galad to be a warden.

"Your glibness does you no credit, warden." Galad came to the ramp leading up to where the humans, a mage and an armored man were arguing.

"Here I thought we were going to be such great friends!" The warden sarcastically stated, "I was even going to name one of my children after you...the grumpy one."

"Enough, I will speak to the woman if I must." The mage stalked away from the warden and walked down the ramp. Seeing Galad, the mage swung out his staff, "Keep your hands off me you damned dirty elf!" Acting entirely on instinct, Galad didn't bother wandering how he'd drawn an arrow on his bow and brought it to the mage's neck in less than a few seconds.

"What my friend means to say is, mind your manners, sir mage." The warden stated while failing to divert the elf's arrow from the mage's neck. Sensing that perhaps his reaction was overly necessary. Lowing his bow, he didn't give the mage another glance as the human ran away terrified, "You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together."

"I seem to see what you mean." Galad agreed, placing his arrow back into it's quiver and slinging his bow over his shoulder.

"It's like a party! I can all stand in a circle and hold hands." The warden laughed, "That would give the darkspawn something to think about."

"Add a song to the circle and they'll flee with terror in their hearts!" Galad added with a smile, causing the warden to break down and laugh.

"Wait, we haven't met, have we? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage?"

"Do I look like a mage?" Alistair just looked at him as if accused of being stupid. "No we haven't met, you must be Alistair."

"And that makes you Duncan's new recruit? Glad to meet you."

"One of them." At the moment, Galad tried not to think of his so-called comrades, "I am Gilead of Clan Mahariel."

"As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the joining."

"Is that the name of the ritual we will go through?" Galad had heard two wardens speak of it while wandering through the camp, but they lowered their voices as if they'd either noticed or sensed him.

"So, I'm curious...Have you ever actually encountered darkspawn before?"

"A small group of them overran an ancient ruin of my people..." Galad hadn't quite made his peace with what happened in the elven ruin that claimed Tamlen.

"I've only fought them once up close and that was before the battles here started." Alistair offered, "Tell me...did you find them as monstrous as I did..."

"Monstrous would not be the word I would choose..." Whether the human chantry was right or not about why darkspawn exist, they did. Galad still remembered the "genlocks" he'd faced in the ruins. Mishapen mutilated creatures, as if they existed as a parallel perversion to the peoples of Thedas, "But they can be killed, just as any other man or beast."

"You'll be at an advantage then." Alistair complemented, "Most new recruits have never even seen darkspawn before."

"That apparently holds true for most in this group." If the rumors were true then at least Durin had fought a darkspawn, the others...they were experienced enough in killing their own kind if that counted for anything.

"Anyhow, whenever your ready, let's get back to Duncan." Alistair suggested, "I imagine he's eager to get things started."

* * *

"Not with the lot he had to deal with." Varic was enjoying himself too much.

"You'd be surprised as to how much tolerance Duncan possessed...it was amazing..." The Story-Teller reminesced, it was clear that the man still missed Duncan.

"Fitting for a Commander of the Grey." Cassandra complemented but could not hide her impatience.

"Don't worry, we'll get to the battle soon." The Story-Teller shot at the Seeker, "See this is why Orlais couldn't hold on to us, you're too touchy and impatient."


	3. Ostagar: Into the Wilds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The recruits enter a swamp and Amell pours ashes on a rock.
> 
> Trust me, it's more exciting than it sounds.

**Duncan's Tent**

"Good to see you again, Ser Jory." The Commander of the Grey said to the knight from Redcliffe as he and the young Cousland lady came to the designated meeting spot, "Thank you Shatele."

"Rabbit did most of the work, Duncan." Shatele pointed out to the Senior Warden. She knelt down and smoothly caressed the brown hair of her hound, "Good boy." Rabbit happily barked and licked the girl's face, causing her to laugh.

"Lucky lass you are to have one of those..." Ser Jory complemented, "Hope I can get one for my wife before our child is born."

"Your going to be a father?" Shatele asked as she stood up with the excitement of a little girl, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you lass-"

"I thought only men with big lances can have babies."

"What do you-" Ser Jory gagged when he realized just what the girl had just said. "What makes you say that?"

"Well...big brother told me that men with big swords have them to compensate for having a small "lance". The Lady explained without changing her sweet tone, putting the knight further into discomfort than he would have liked.

"Maybe he's just saying that cause he has a small lance." Jory jokingly replied with a nervous laugh. Likely, the girl was just messing with him to have a good laugh.

"No...it's quite big." Jory's eyes widened when again, he absorbed what she'd just said, "I actually mistook it for a hand once..."

"You've...seen your brother...naked?"

"Whenever we share a bed, we sleep without clothes on." Shatele elaborated, seemingly surprised at Jory's increased horror, "Isn't that what all brothers and sisters do? Rabbit did with his brothers and sisters."

"If you'll excuse me..." Ser Jory slowly walked away from the young Lady Cousland and went to find a...spot.

"Did I say something wrong?" Shatele asked Duncan as the sound of vomiting was heard. Rabbit sniffed the ear and gasped for a few moments.

"No my dear, you didn't," The Warden answered and followed the girl's glance at the arriving recruits joined by Alistair, "You found Alistair did you? Good, we can begin immediately..." Before Duncan could say anymore, the Dalish elf had drawn his bow and pointed a drawn arrow at Gimli.

"The ring." Mahariel said to Brosca. Before Duncan could diffuse the situation, the dwarf slowly pulled out a silver ring with twin emerald snakes running along it's band and offered it to the elf. Gilead snatched the ring from the dwarf and slipped it onto his ring, "Precious..."

"...No comment." Lily added in as the dalish elf rubbed a finger over the ring as if to pet it.

"Assuming that you are all quite done with your petty antics?" Revan looked questionably at his companions at Duncan's annoyed question, "Antagonizing mages, tormenting the king with uninspiring songs telling of his death, stealing from messengers, harassing templars..."

"And murdering a man condemned to die." Mairon added to the confusion of some, the horror of others, and the growing annoyance of Duncan.

"That doesn't make it right!" Durin shot at the mage in a fit of outrage.

"I did the system a favor..." Mairon replied while Aeducan stood quietly fuming and praying to his ancestors for rocks to fall and the mage to die.

"So what about that armor your wearing?" Brosca asked the former dwarf noble, bringing everyone's attention to the adjusted Templar armor he wore.

"Its previous owner lost his life in an ill-fated attempt to take mine." Durin explained without raising the tone of his voice, "I felt that his armor would be of more use to me in the coming battle than on his bloodied, soon-to-be cremated body."

"The messenger asked if I needed a sword..." Lily quietly mentioned, slowly fingering the coin she'd gotten from selling what's-his-name's sword.

"The king better not look at me." Gimli raised his finger towards the mage in the group, "I wasn't the one who made up the lyrics."

"I can't speak for the rest of you..." Alistair turned to each of the recruits with an amusingly raised eyebrow before turning back to Duncan, "But what can I say? The Holy Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt they should stick her in the army."

"You can use guilt as a weapon?" Shatele asked.

"Only if your really good at it, my lady." Alistair answered the younger Cousland. Revan let out a surpressed chuckle and shook his head.

"She forced you to sass the mage and threaten him with an arrow to his throat?" Duncan brought up with growing impatience.

"The last part was my doing." Duncan turned to Gilead with an odd "what the hell" face, "He called me dirty." Duncan shakingly narrowed his eyes before turning to the lit bonfire behind him.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear to all of you. At most, we will have a little more than thirty wardens and we are not well liked in Ferelden." Duncan stated with an increasingly calm but passively angered voice, "The least that we need to be doing, is giving our critics more ammunition to decrease our already fragile state in Ferelden and make us less able to stand against the Blight before it spreads throughout the world and destroys all in it's wake."

"I'm...I apologize Duncan." Alistair stated with a guilt lowered head while some in the group pondered Duncan's words. Brosca, on the other hand, had silently crept up to Duncan's back while everyone was distracted by their guilt.

"No lasting harm has been done...I hope..." Duncan turned around in time to snatch Gimli's hand and take back the rune the dwarf had pick-pocketed from the Grey Warden's pocket. Gimli gingerly smiled as he stepped back into line, "Now, I will need to send the nine of you into the Wilds to complete two tasks."

"What are the tasks, sire?" Durin asked.

"First, you must find and procure three vials of Darkspawn blood."

"I thought this wasn't a blood ritual." Lily didn't put it past the human to lie to her, but what was the point during a blight?

"Is the second to acquire a willing sacrifice?" Mairon eagerly asked to everyone's rising dread.

"No..." Again, Mairon snapped his fingers at Duncan's answer while everyone else calmed down, "Suffice to say...the vials are needed."

"Haven't you already found blood from your previous battles?" Gilead inquired, it was not uncommon for Dalish hunters to keep the blood of their usual prey in order to better memorize their scent. Surely the wardens had a similar practice.

"The last reasonably fresh sample we have is from a trip to the Deep Roads, but we need more for the ritual."

"What is the second task." Revan asked, determined to do fulfill his role as Grey Warden.

"Somewhere in the wilds lies an abandoned Grey Warden outpost. There you will find a sealed set of documents and scrolls that will be vital in the months to come."

"Documents and scrolls? Of what?" Mairon's interest seemed peeked, which surprised most of those gathered.

"Records, reports, memoirs, and most importantly old treaties." Duncan explained to the recruits, "These treaties were signed to ensure that Grey Wardens would receive the aid of all the factions who signed them. At the time, they were only formality, but with the Blight upon us, it will be essential to remind potential allies of their sworn obligations to the Grey Wardens."

"Why not just invoke the right of conscription on every able-bodied warrior in Ferelden?" Lily inquired.

"Because invoking the rights are not completely practical in a tight spot like we're in." Alistair pointed out, "Plus, we Ferelden's don't take kindly to...drafts..."

"Why just let em get butchered till they promise to help?" Gimli asked.

"If the darkspawn are still in the wilds, why not just burn the bloody forest to the ground with them in it?" Mairon took a moment to take in the gazes that the other recruits gave him, "Why not? Darkspawn aren't immune to being burned alive. Right?"

"What crime have these woods committed to you mage?" Gilead accusingly demanded of the apathetic mage.

"Enough." Duncan's single word brought everyone's attention to the Commander, "You have your task. I suggest you start immediately."

* * *

"Looks like even Duncan had his limits."

"He made the best of what he had." The Orator stated, "Shouldn't the fact that you're still alive testify to that?"

"No one's making a jab at Duncan..." Varric clarified for the offended Ferelden, "He...was a good man..."

"I was under the impression that we would've gotten to the battle by now."

"See...this is why no one likes Orleisans!" The storyteller mused loudly to Cassandra's annoyance, "Apart from the ridiculously funny accents." The storyteller chose not to regard Cassandra's angry glare.

* * *

**Edge of the Kocari Wilds**

"Here is the very edge of civilized exploration..." Revan remarked as he and the others searched the wilds, "Anyone think there's dead bodies in the water?"

"I'll humor you Cousland." Brosca called a little ways behind, "Maybe this swamp was formed over an ancient battlefield between humans, elves, and...dwarves...fightin some ancient evil who was dumb enough to concentrate his power into a shiny gold ring..." The dwarf turned away from the pool to see that the group was looking at him very querily, "Why not?"

"Over here!" The group heard a weak voice faintly cry out, Alistair carefully led the group over the uneven terrain until they came upon a ruined campsite where a scouting party had their last meal.

"What happened?" Alistair inquired though the answer was clear from the soldier's companions being littered over the ground a few feet from this survivor.

"My whole group...darkspawn came out of nowhere..." The soldier painfully answered, his wounds seemed all the more severe up close, "Please...I've gotta get...back to camp."

"Not in your condition, any one have a potion and bandage?" Revan looked from face to face, unfortunately it seemed that no one had a poultrice for the soldier to drink. The warrior stood up and walked over to Tabris, reaching into her tunic and pulling out a lesser health poultrice and throwing it to Alistair, "Thank you." The elf regarded Revan as if he was a darkspawn himself as he walked back over to the wounded soldier.

"That's a surprise, I can't even look at a woman without getting slapped across the face." Brosca laughed and then grew quiet when the elf turned their gaze to him.

"That should do it." Alistair remarked after bandaging up the soldier, "Can you make it back to camp?"

"I...think I can make it..." The soldier answered as Revan and Daveth helped the man to his feet, "I'll inform my lord of your deed...what are your names?"

"Alistair is mine and this is Revan." Alistair answered.

"I am Ser Gaider, I will remember you." With that, Gaider hobbled past the group and made his way for the camp.

"You hear that? A whole group of scouts killed by darkspawn!" Jory cried out in rising panic.

"Long as we stay careful and do nothing stupid we should be alright." Brosca tried to assure the knight but knew it wasn't working.

"Those scouts are trained to be careful and look what happened to them!" Jory pointed to the bodies of Gaider's fellows who sadly didn't last very long after their fatal injuries.

"Look? I thought the Alienage drains smelt bad." Lily remarked.

"These men died doing their duty...at least pretend to honor them." Revan was strongly resisting the urge to slap the elven woman mocking the dead.

"I am no coward. But I have a wife with child in Highever, I do not wish to die ignobly." Jory stated.

"Know this. The Grey Wardens can sense Darkspawn wherever they may be. If any of them are nearby, I will know." Alistair said to the knight and the rest of the group. Even though no one was soiling their drawers like Jory, nobody was too eager to die at the hands of ravenous darkspawn either.

"See Ser Knight? We may die, but at least we'll be warned in advance." Daveth stated with a chuckle.

"How acute is this ability?" Brosca inquired while getting his crossbow ready.

"Just so you know, there are a lot of darkspawn...in that direction..." Alistair answered, pointing towards the south-east and south-west of the ruin-littered swamp.

"Where are the treaties?" Brosca asked though somehow he already had an idea.

"In...that direction..." Alistair answered, this time pointing towards the south east.

"Who's bloody idea was it to have these documents placed in an outpost in the middle of a bloody swamp on the edge of unexplored territory?" Brosca demanded, for him common sense dictated to never put important papers in a place just as dangerous as whoever they wanted to protect the papers from.

"Look...I can't speak for the intelligence of our predecessors." Alistair admitted. The recruits under him simply grumbled and started moving.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Gilead demanded Amell as the mage held his hand on the head of a dead soldier. He, Mairon and Aeducan were a little ways further from the group, but not too far out of sight.

"Trying out a spell from a Tome I read." Mairon explained, "It's supposed to allow me to see the last thoughts of dead people before their untimely demise..."

"That could be useful." Durin commented, earning sheer contempt and shock from Gilead.

"What?" The elf demanded, "He violates the sanctity of the dead!"

"As far as I know, only one amongst the nine of us knows how to track Darkspawn." Durin elaborated, "Amell will be able to pinpoint groups through the memories of their victims."

"A lot of good it's done so far..." Mairon released the body from his grip and let the corpse drop to the ground, "This bastard was too piss poor scared to commit anything to memory."

"Help..." The three of them carefully stepped to where a severely wounded soldier lied on top of a decayed and carved out deer.

"We don't have time." Durin stated as he started to walk away from the soldier.

"Do we? Or do you simply not care dwarf?" Gilead wasn't ready to abandon this man just because of apathy. True, the man was a human but leaving him to die would not make Gilead any better and his descendents may pay for his actions in the future.

"This soldier is obviously wounded and therefore carries a risk of carrying the darkspawn taint." Durin explained the elf, "He'll probably die before we make it to camp.

"Besides, he's dead..." Before the dwarf could correct the mage on the difference between dying and dead, Mairon pulled out a knife, stabbed the soldier in the face and pulled him up by the knife to show his companions, "You see? Dead." The elf narrowed his eyes as he swiftly drew an arrow, pointed his drawn bow at the mage and released.

The arrow flew past Marion's face and embedded itself into the neck of a stunted darkspawn behind him. As the darkspawn fell backwards, Mairon stood up and unleashed a torrent of flame in between Durin and Gilead that scorched two other darkspawn. Durin swung his axe and cleaved through the aflamed creatures as Gilead fired an arrow into the head of a darkspawn that attempted to backstab Durin.

"Well done, Mahariel." Durin complemented while the three gazed upon the four genlocks that they'd slain. The Dwarf noble knew enough about darkspawn pack mentality to know that these were scouts, "There's apparently only a dozen more to go."

"You want the first shot or should I throw the first blow?" Mairon asked as the three spotted a taller darkspawn, a Hurlock armed with sword and shield marshalling a small group of Genlocks forward into an assault...

* * *

"Whats that your doing?" Daveth inquired when he noticed Tabris kneeling down and picking out from a growth of plants.

"Picking out elfroot." Lily didn't bother looking at the former cutpurse from Denerem, "Later on, I can concoct a little potion in case I ever get in a tight spot."

"Found any Wild's Flowers?" The thief asked, "Heard the Kennel Master's offering a reward for anyone who can bring him one."

"Yeah I heard, picked one out after we helped out that soldier."

"Hopefully you'll actually help ma'am." Revan remarked as he walked past Lily and Daveth.

"Be careful about reaching into my clothes again shemlen." a standing Lily warned the Cousland warrior, "I just might cut that hand of your's off."

"You know as much this little chat is drawing you so close together...Darkspawn! Draw out!" Alistair yelled as the battlecries of the darkspawn filled the swamp and the group drew out their weapons. Alistair ran out front flanked by Jory and Revan while Lily followed closely behind with Brosca and Daveth in the back with their ranged weapons.

"Maker, though the darkness comes upon me," The group heard Lily chant, "I shall embrace the light. I shall weather the storm." The city elf jumped up and stabbed the air behind Revan, her twin knives cutting out through the chest of a previously stealthed Genlock. She ducked under a slash from another genlock rouge and thrust to stab the darkspawn's throat and used her momentum to bring the creature over her head as a meatshield against the last two rouges. Fortunately, a pair of arrows launched from Gimli and Daveth felled the genlocks before they could cut through the meatshield.

The warriors couldn't respond to the rouges because they were busy with the group of hurlocks that had charged them. Jory swiped through three with his balanced greatsword as Alistair deflected an arrow fired from afar and stabbed through the chest of a hurlock and bashed it's head off. Revan fought very oddly, usually fighting with the sword and dagger forged with the same quality as the commemorative armor that was now stained with darkspawn blood but also unslung his shield to surprise his enemies with a bash to the head or chest before throwing the shield back onto his back.

Close to meeting back up with the others, Aeducin led a three man charge through the small darkspawn platoon. Fortunately, they seemed like a scouting party as opposed to a more heavily armored force because how disorganized they seemed.

Mairon fired an arcane bolt past a hurlock that seemed to have been fired in vain before setting another genlock rouge aflame with a blaze of fire. Gilead's bow sang in the wilds, the dalish hunter had yet to miss a target save for the few darkspawn outside of his bow's reach. Surprised by another darkspawn rouge, Gilead swerved to avoid a stab to the back and swiped his arrow across the genlock's neck, causing darkspawn blood to spray into the elf's face.

Though momentarily blinded, the elf relied on his hearing and fired the arrow where he heard another darkspawn approaching. By the time he wiped off his eyes, Mahariel allowed himself to grin when he saw the hurlock he'd slain while blind and then turned back to where the main group was.

Durin smashed the pummel of his axe into the side of hurlock's face, allowing the glee of war to fill him after hearing the creature's skull shatter. For good measure, the dwarf brought his ax down upon the center of hurlock as a lumberman does with a swine on the chopping block. An arrow sang and the dwarf looked up to see that a more armored hurlocked had been pinned to the ground by the arrows by three different marksmen. Durin brought as much strength as he could spare into the swing that cleaved off the creature's head.

* * *

"Are you trying to keep my interest, Ferelden?"

"There's no pleasing you is there? You wanted the gritty details didn't you?"

* * *

Revan swiped his blades across the chest of a hurlock and crouched down, maintaining his focus as he felt the blade of a darkspawn rouge snap on hitting the shield on his back. The Cousland lad balanced on his foot as he swung around to stab the rouge in it's chest and shoulder with each of his swords. He stood up and swung his left sword through the skull of a hurlock as a lightning bolt flew past him to strike the hurlock behind the Cousland.

"Two swords and with a shield strapped to your back..." Lily pulled her knife out of the neck of a genlock and threw it up in the air. She then somersaulted and kicked the knife into the back of a retreating hurlock.

"I'd like to think of it as having the Will of Highever on my back." Revan answered Tabris as he bashed his shield into a hurlock archer, "Plus, a predictable warrior is soon to be a dead one."

"Good advice." Brosca called as he passed the hurlock he'd felled and fired another arrow into the distance where the remaining darkspawn were fleeing.

"You're pretty good with those blades yourself." Revan told Tabris as Gilead's bow sang in unison with Gimli's crossbow and Daveth's bow and killed off the remaining retreating darkspawn.

"I call em Knife Ears." Lily answered, "Not heavy like short swords but longer and sharper than a dagger."

"Where did you get those?" With all respect, Revan doubted that those knives didn't look like anything that most elves could afford.

"If you've gotta know, I stole em." Tabris answered, "Some blacksmith named Wade, he didn't look like he'd be needing these little things so I took them."

"You realize I'll have to report you if we ever get to Denerim." Revan remarked with unhidden disapproval.

"I care because?" Revan shook his head at Lily's mis-concern, "Besides, those guards have been chasing me up and down the whole city since I was thirteen and haven't even come close to catching me on my worst days."

"If that's the case, they probably let you off." Revan guessed, "More important things to worry about than a cutpurse."

"This look like letting me off?" You'd think that a man wouldn't be able to see anything past the slim waist and underbreast suddenly revealed when a woman raises her tunic. Yet, Revan was too distracted by the ugly scar running up the side of her torso and chest, "But if they did, then all the fun would go out of seeing their shocked faces." The city elf lowered her tunic and walked towards a growth of deathroot.

"You my dear, are a credit to your race." Revan complemented as the elf walked off. His father had told him about the conditions and discrimination that elves faced in most areas of Ferelden. At Highever, at least his parents were able to see that elves were given a decent job, one of his personal guards was actually an elf himself. Elsewhere it seemed, the lords of Ferelden were less graceful.

* * *

"Such pity I feel for the lass and the noble who had a great peek at her-"

"I'm trying to tell a story, do you mind?"

* * *

"Nice bow work..." Daveth complemented Gilead as they sniped away at darkspawn archers on the edge of their vision. Daveth wasn't a slouch with a bow but as he preferred to hit and run, he wasn't the least saddened to admit that Gilead was the superior archer out of the two, "Never seen a Dalish bow..."

"It was given to me by a craftsman of my clan." Gilead reminesced as another arrow was released from his bow, "What of this...crossbow that the dwarf uses?"

"I call her Kalah." Gimli answered before joining the shooting gallery and bolting an arrow into the distance with his steel-framed crossbow, "Hand made this baby in my spare time and then I named her after my momma."

"Such reverence-"

"Cause she's a nasty bitch who always hit her mark no matter how drunk she was..." Gimli finished before firing another bolt into the wilds. "Before either of you start, I don't have use for pity."

"I don't blame you..." Daveth chimed in, "That's why I left my dad...the bastard..."

"You should be grateful you have parents." Gilead lightly rebuked, "Mine died when I was younger..."

"Good for you, they were probably nice ones," Gimli guessed as he took aim and fired to finish off the last of the darkspawn snipers, "Guess that ain't any different on the surface..."

"What's that?" Gilead asked, his curiosity baited on the life of the stunted peoples that even the Dalish had less contact with than humans.

"Nugs that live deserve death," Gimli started, "While the honest folk who oughta live get shafted and die...last thing my dad ever told my sister before he ditched us."

"Me...it's the taken and takers." Daveth stated, "But...maybe you've gotta a point too."

"All action has a consequence..." Gilead countered before slinging his bow back onto his back, "All one can do is live his life by their code and reap what they sow."

"Tell me how that works out then." Gimil stated and the three went to where the rest of the group was regathering.

* * *

"You know...I would've thought that a dwarf noble's ax would look shinier..." Mairon remarked, he and the dwarf noble had again found themselves a little ways ahead of the others.

"The axes of the noble houses are not forged as trophies but as weapons of conquest," Durin stated to the mage, "At any rate, an exile has no say in the quality of the weapon given to them."

"Fine." Mairon stated, "Me...I prefer the simple things in life..."

"Like what?" As Mairon was the first mage the dwarf had ever met in person, Durin couldn't help but listen to the mage's insights.

"Fire..." The mage snapped his fingers to summon a torch of flame on two joined fingers, "Lightning..." The flame swirled and flowed into the mage's hand before he shot it out at a rock and the rock shattered into smaller pieces, "And the sheer mastery of mana itself."

"Suddenly...I wonder about how a dwarf might become a mage." Durin thought aloud, sometimes he questioned the ancestors on a few pet subjects and after witnessing what Mairon could do with this power called magic, he wondered about their wisdom in becoming immune to ever harnessing it.

"Warden senses tingling..." Hearing Alistair's called-out warning, Aeducan and Mairon pushed backs to each other to keep from being stabbed in the back by any darkspawn rouge. Seeing that the darkspawn were coming from the northside of the hill they stood on, Mairon choose to gain higher ground while Durin charged into the darkspawn followed by Jory and Daveth.

"Missionary Rigby?" Mairon asked while picking through the belongings of a dead chantry brother he'd found, "Who the hell names their son Rigby?" The mage sidestepped a hurlock and pushed it off a nearby cliff without turning from reading the missionary's journal. He temporarily pulled away from the book to see the battle's progress. Jory in particular had been blindsided by a hurlock and hacked in the back of his leg. Fortunately, a thrown axe from Daveth and a mighty cleave from Durin prevented the knight from being killed.

Not that Mairon cared through, Rigby's account about the Chasind truly fascinated the mage.

"Hold on Ser Knight." Daveth pulled his handaxe from the Hurlock and kicked it aside before helping the knight to his feet, "This'll be a great story for your pretty wife, no?"

"Perhaps it will..." Jory agreed as he placed his weight on Daveth's shoulder, "I just hope I live to tell the tale." Durin cut into another darkspawn as the rest fled away from the hill and down towards a bridge. The dwarf just watched as Alistair and the others tore into the discouraged darkspawn. Just as Durin ran off to join the fray, Daveth turned towards Mairon when he heard the sound of thunder.

"Good on you ser knight!" Mairon called from afar, a rouge hurlock lied under him with limbs that still twitched from the lightning that had been sent through it's system, "Just listen to those instincts and you're sure to live through the night!"

* * *

"Did Mairon know that-"

"I'm trying to tell a story...here I'll make it more interesting as long as you stop interrupting me..."

* * *

"Emissary!" Alistair called out as a darkspawn with a twisted staff was spotted. The hurlock regarded the five wardens standing on the other end of the bridge with caution. Rather than wasting time with jeers or battlecries, the creature fired a blast from it's staff.

"Shit!" Realizing too late what the blast was, Revan was knocked off his feet by the fireball that erupted in the center of their group, "Where's the bloody mage when you need him?" Revan got back on his feet, looking around to see that everyone in their group had been knocked down except for Alistair who stood with smoke rising off his armor and Gimli, who stood back from the main group.

"I have to do everything myself." Alistair mumbled as charged across the bridge, his shield raised as he neared the Emissary. The hurlock fired a blast of misted energy from it's staff while two hurlocks appeared from cover to flank the Grey Warden. Not caring, Alistair rolled under their strikes and knelt in time to deflect a fireball with his shield and stabbed his sword into the Emisary's torso as the fire bolt exploded nearby. Alistair swerved his shield up into the Emissary's chin, crushing it's jaw into the upper part of it's skull and with a last slash of his sword, relieved the Emissary of it's lower regions as it's head and body fell off of the still standing hips and legs

As for the hurlocks, two arrows pinned one to the ground while the other was filled by a thrown knife in the neck and an arrow through the chest. The remaining darkspawn tried to pull the arrows out of it's feet before Alistair finished him off, but was instead sliced in half at the torso by Revan.

"Even Darkspawn may use magic?" Gilead inquired of Alistair after catching up to him and the Warden, closely observing the corpse of the Darkspawn Emissary who'd caused the group a great deal of problems.

"Yes. They're originated from the Black City in the Fade...so they've probably gotten some instruction at some point in time" Alistair explained and turned to see the group follow up from the bridge, "How's everyone?" Since they hadn't worn metal armor, the cloth-like tunics of Lily, Gilead, and Gimli were somewhat singed from that fireball and Revan's left gauntlet had been blacked from a blocking reflex.

"Jory's leg got splintered back there..." Daveth answered as he carried Jory and set him down in the clearing. Durin followed behind, his armor covered with blood but the blade of his axe was dringed in dark liquid as if it had bathed in darkspawn blood, "Anyone got an injury kit?" Revan walked up to Lily and held out his hand. The city elf at first shook her head but Cousland tipped his head to the right.

"Looks like the jig is up." Brosca remarked as Tabris slowly pulled an injury kit from her tunic. Since she was taking a while to hand it over, Revan snatched the kit from her hand and walked over to Jory.

"Here you go." Revan threw the kit to the knight and used a hidden but sadly also singed cloth to wipe the blood from his sword and dagger.

"What is it with you and snatching away my medicine?" An offended Lily demanded while Jory consumed the injury kit.

"You didn't seem very charitable so I relieved it from you." Revan answered before sheathing his weapons.

"Just like you humans, taking what you deem should be yours." Gilead joined in.

"I say the means benefits the ends," Revan remarked to Gilead before turning back to Tabris, "If you're gonna horde all of the medicine then I hope you're ready to face these darkspawn on your own when the rest of us are dead or collapsed from injuries."

"Not that it isn't fun to see humans and elves killing each other," Gimli stated, coming between Tabris and Cousland before they killed each other, "But I'd like to ask what our mage is doing over there?" Following where the dwarf pointed his crossbow, the group noticed Mairon up on a hill next to a pile of rocks.

"What is he holding?" Durin asked as Jory slowly stood back up.

"It's a pouch...of ashes..." Gilead answered, observing the brown bag with his Dalish attuned eyes.

"Ashes..." Alistair stood as if pondering something he'd learned based around ashes, "Mairon! Don't sprinkle the ashes over that pile of rocks!"

"What is he saying?" Mairon asked as he saw Alistair's mouth desparately move as if to tell him something. Mairon's own curiosity however had temporarily disabled his hearing due to the sheer amount of mana he sensed from the pile of rocks in front of him, "I choose to assume he wants me to sprinkle the ashes."

"Oh...nothing happened." Alistair seemed relieved when the ashes on the rocks merely blew in the wind, "Here I thought-"

"Who summons Gazarath from slumber?" A low unhuman voice boomed through the area and large amounts of dist and ash gathered in the clearing next to the bridge they'd crossed. The Wardens drew their weapons and watched in shock and amazement as the ash and dirt compiled into a large creature of dark violent shade.

"We're going to have to talk to him about this kind of thing." Gimli muttered as everyone prepared to battle the massive Ash Demon that now loomed over them.


	4. Ostagar: Demons, Witches and Darkspawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wardens are still in the swamp and a witch swoops down upon them!
> 
> Later on, Duncan offers the recruits kool-aid.

"An Ash demon in the korcari wilds?" Cassandra couldn't believe what she was now hearing.

"Would you stop interrupting the man?" Varric couldn't wait to hear about this one.

"Then again, I should probably move on to when they met-"

"Tell me of Gazarath!" Cassandra demanded of her captive.

"Promise not to interrupt me for awhile?" The captive decided to take the Seeker's quiet glare as a yes, "Then let me tell you about it..."

* * *

"You'd think a demon of ash and dust would be one of the easiest targets in Thedas!" Brosca ranted as he, Daveth and Gilead fired into the demon Gazarath from a distance. As their arrows seemed to phase through the demon, the summoned creature engaged Alistair, Durin, Revan in direct combat as Lily struck from behind while Jory became acquainted with the ground from being struck by the demon's first blow.

"Mairon! We need some help!" Alistair cried to the mage sitting further up on the hill as the demon swung it's arm back and nearly knocked Tabris off the hill.

"So demons can possess dirt?" Mairon was reading a codex that he'd found in the pile of rocks that Gazarath had been summoned from, "Technically makes them a shade though...I wonder-"

"Amell! Get your ass over here!" Revan shouted as his shield was painfully wrenched from his arm, likely fracturing a bone in the process.

"Fine! Let there be Fire!" Mairon snapped his fingers, causing the blades of the combatants to become engulfed in flame.

"Andraste's pink nipples!"

"What?" Durin wondered in response to Revan's language until he looked next to him.

"I'm on fire!" By some oversight, the Cousland male was engulfed in flames of magic that danced off his armor while he wildly flailed around like a madman.

"Oh...sorry Revan..." Mairon said as Cousland screamed, the mage then snapped his fingers, "That should fix it."

"I'm still on fire!" Cousland cried to the mage as Gazarath's arm was hewn off by Durin's axe. Alistair jumped on the Dwarf's head and used it to jump up and bash the demon in the head with his shield.

"But you're not burning to death, no?" Not sure whether he was angrier with either the demon or Amell, Revan's eyes narrowed as he charged the demon. Just after Lily stabbed the back of the demon's lower back and two arrows finally found something to hit, Revan jumped into the demon's chest and stabbed forward with both swords. He then released his knife, slung out his shield and swung it up into Gazarath's jaw.

By the time Jory had managed to crawl over to Gimli's group, the demon was on it's deathbed, unable to fend off the attacks of it's summoners long enough to retreat. Finally, Durin swung his axe onto the demon's lowered neck and hewed off it's head.

"What was going through your head mage?" Gilead shouted to Mairon as the demon faded into dust and was blown in the wind.

"I don't know? I thought it was part of a Chasind burial ritual..." Mairon answered as he walked down the hill, his book apparently finished.

"Well in a sense it was." Alistair answered, "A charming burial rite for anyone stupid enough to go and complete a summoning ritual!"

"And how exactly was I to know that I was summoning a demon?" Mairon asked, completely unfazed by the glare that the injured Revan gave him. Jory attempted a similar feat, but Mairon just laughed.

"You should've looked more closely." Alistair wasn't very happy with Amell. No one in the group was to be honest, "The rocks might've had a little message on them that said, 'warning: sprinkling ashes on rocks will summon evil demon!"

"Well if it was written there and it wasn't in any language I could read," Mairon answered, "Anyway it's dead now so what's the big fuss?" An arrow flew into Mairon's face at that moment, drawing the group's attention to a formation of darkspawn archers further east in front of a ruin.

"Form up!" On Alistair's command, the group ran down the hill, Alistair, Revan and Durin stayed on the outside, warding off incoming arrows with their shields. Gilead ran in between the defenders and quickly fired a series of four arrows in the direction of the incoming enemies.

There wasn't much doubt that he hit because the barrage had ceased.

Down the hill, the group already spotted the surge of hurlocks and genlocks running towards them intent on a feast. Gimli was in the front this time and instead of firing with his crossbow, he pulled out a flask filled with a green substance and threw it at the approaching darkspawn.

"Everyone back!" Lily cried and soon saw why. The flask burst over several feet, spraying the green liquid onto the masses charging towards them. The creatures wailed and cried as the liquid burned into their flesh and caused some of the hurlocks to lose their limbs if not kill them outright. Those who didn't die or weren't hit were soon enough felled by the warriors or Gilead and Daveth's arrows.

To replace them, another smaller group of hurlocks charged. But this time, they were led by a strange appareled darkspawn in yellow armor with horns on his head covering helm. As the other hurlocks engaged the recruits, their leader stood in the back and slowly approached the engagement site.

Durin decapitated a hurlock as he and Jory breached their flimsy formation and stared down the hurlock captain. Jory attacked first and swung with his greatsword. Sadly, the hurlock captain caught the blade and swung his greataxe into the knight's leg, causing him to cry out and fall to the ground.

That would've been Jory's end if Durin hadn't hacked into the captain's arm and grazed across the hurlock's chest armor. Though wounded, the captain ran it's tongue across the wound on it's arm and clashed it's axe with Durin's.

As great as the two clashed, Durin's victory was guaranteed when an arrow from Gilead shot into it's eye, another arrow from Daveth met it's throat, a wounded Jory swung his sword through the captain's leg and Lily's knives came out through it's head and neck when she backstabbed it.

The Dwarf decided to oblige the hurlock captain and sliced through it's neck and shoulder, cleaving it's left arm and head from the rest of it's body. With the defeat of their captain, the remainder fled only to be picked off by Gimli and Daveth while the rest of the group reassembled.

"This was their captain..." Lily muttered as she checked the hurlock for anything valuable but didn't find anything except for a runestone and a steel helm that reminded Tabris of the armor the other grey wardens were wearing.

"You alright ser Gilead?" Daveth asked Mahariel, who nearly fell onto of a hurlock carved out by Revan and Alistair.

"I will be well, thank you Daveth." Gilead felt weakened, but he was unsurprised. He could already feel the taint flow through his veins. At this rate, he would've been dead within another week if he hadn't gone with Duncan.

"Can't sense anymore nearby..." Alistair told the group, "Looks like any other darkspawn are going back to the main horde."

"What we scared them off?"

"Worse, they're amassing for their next assault." The Grey warden answered Lily, "We still have time, let's just get those treaties and get out of this swamp."

"It's in a chest right?" Alistair nodded in reply to Cousland's inquiry, "I'll get them."

"Alright." As Cousland entered the ruin, Alistair sat down on the barely alive grass, "Let's take a brief rest."

"We should remain weary." Gilead warned the now sitting recruits, "These wilds...they unsettle me."

"You heard the Grey Warden, the darkspawn all left." Daveth said as though he didn't wish to have his ease of mind taken from him.

"It's not the darkspawn...it's something else." Gilead looked around, the feeling he had since entering these woods had not faded, "These wilds...they possess eyes of their own...something is watching us...but whether it means harm or otherwise...I cannot say."

"Probably a Spirit of Lust that wants to ravage you." Durin rolled his eyes and Gimli snickered as the group turned their gaze to Mairon. "Anyone have a better thought?"

"Question!" They heard Cousland cry from within the ruin, "Is it a good sign if the chest is broken?"

"This is an old outpost, hasn't been used for centuries so I couldn't say."

"We might've gone to the wrong ruin," Revan called out, "There's nothing in this chest."

"You mean I splintered my leg twice for nothing?" Jory cried out in pure frustration, though his reaction about summed up how everyone felt at that moment.

"Wasn't this a productive trip?" Lily asked, not surprised when she was answered with silence, "Didn't think so."

"But we summoned a demon and defeated it!" Mairon's smile remained unaffected, even as he saw the disbelieving gazes of his fellow recruits, "Oh don't act like it wasn't exciting."

* * *

"I need a moment."

"Bet you're not looking forward to this part."

"No...I'm really not."

* * *

**Outpost Ruins**

"Everything fades with time, the lock likely wore off and this happened," Revan assured himself as he knelt before a broken and decayed chest that was supposed to contain the Grey Warden documents he and his fellows had risked their lives to find, "But who's bright idea was it to leave these all-important treaties in a chest inside of a tower in the middle of wilds anyone hardly goes to and doesn't bother to-"

"Well...what have we here?" Revan stood up with sword drawn, but wasn't calmed when he saw a woman in black and dark purple within the ruin, "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse who's bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder...come into these darkspawn filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey?"

"What say you? Scavenger or intruder?"

"I would first know who you are and where you come from." Revan demanded as the others came to the scene.

"You are the intruder here. I believe the first question is rightfully mine." In a sense, the woman was right, but Revan didn't like her. Something about her eyes spellt out that she was dangerous.

"The woman is brave." Durin stated, "Shall I reward her courage or remove her interference."

"Neither." Revan held out his arm to stop Aeducan from drawing his axe and starting an unneeded fight, "The Grey Wardens once owned this tower."

"It is a tower no longer." The witch replied as if pointing out the obvious, "I have watched your progress for some time. "Where do they go," I wondered, "why are they here?"

"So we have stalker who was able to avoid capture...oh joy." Brosca muttered as the woman walked past the group.

"And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her." Alistair warned, "She looks Chasind, and that means others might by nearby."

"Oh! You fear barbarians will swoop down upon you!"

"Right...swooping...is...bad..."

"She's a witch of the wilds!" Daveth cried out in fright that didn't seem in-place for the cutpurse, "She'll turn us all into toads!"

"Witch of the wilds?" The apparent "witch" was not amused, "Such idle fancies-" The witch was interrupted from seeing Mairon standing next to her with a wide smile and gleaming eyes.

"Teach me to turn into a dragon." He demanded as if he were a little boy asking for candy.

"Why should I?" The witch asked.

"Why not?" Mairon asked in reply. After seeing the witch's unrepentant frown, his shoulders slouched and he walked back to the group, "Fine. I'll find my own way to turn into a dragon. With crystal scales! And scantily clad virgins!"

"Have you no mind of your own...You there." Tabris wasn't sure what to think of being called out by a "witch of the wilds", "Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

"Lily's my name." The city elf replied, for a witch of the wilds, this woman was certainly less cruel and barbaric than the stories said.

"And you may call me Morrigan." The witch greeted in reply, "Shall I guess your purpose? You sought for something in that chest? Something that is here no longer?"

"Here no longer?" Alistair still seemed very suspicious of Morrigan, it reminded Mairon of the templars back in the tower, "You stole them, didn't you? You're...some kind of...sneaky...witch-thief!"

"How very eloquent." Morrigan said, seemingly brushing off the grey warden's mistrust, "How does one steal from dead men?"

"Are we supposed to answer that question?" Durin asked as if his intelligence was insulted.

"Out of everyone here you'd be the most qualified." Durin gave Gimli a curt glare.

"Those documents are Grey Warden property and I suggest you return them." Alistair suggested, his hand now resting on the hilt of his sword.

"I will not, for twas not I who removed them." Morrigan answered, "Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."

"Confident for an apostate surrounded by nine wardens who just killed a group of darkspawn and an ash demon."

"Oh my! You must the fearless leader of this ragtag bunch of misfits!" Morrigan mockingly stated to Revan, "I observed that the teeth of your comrades were so clenched that it is a wonder that you survive at all as a band."

"Sometimes you can't face down an ash demon and a bunch of berserker darkspawn without liking each other a little more." Gimli didn't feel anyone shift their gaze to him, but the air seemed to grow a bit colder, "Or maybe you can."

"If you did not remove the documents then who did?" Gilead had little patience for the mistrust of humans and their apostate adversaries. They were there for a task and it had to be fulfilled.

"Twas my mother, in fact." Morrigan answered, confusing some of the warden recruits.

"Can you take us to her then?" Lily wanted out of this swamp now. The mud was building up in her boots and she horribly reeked of darkspawn blood. The sooner they found Morrigan's mother, the better.

"There is a sensible request. I like you." Morrigan told the city elf.

"I'd be careful." Alistair told the group, "First it's, "I like you" but then "Zap!" frog time."

"She may be a witch but she's sensible enough to cooperate with us." "Plus, nine against one still keeps the odds in our favor."

"She'll put us all in the pot she will!" Daveth cried out, the man obviously did not like witches, "Just you watch."

"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change." Jory told the rogue as the group started to follow Morrigan.

"Remember Orzammar Aeducan?" Brosca asked the Former Dwarf Noble, "Remember when we would complain about how hot it was?"

"I hate to agree..." Durin had noticed how much colder the surface was, "But I do miss the molten lake..."

"You have a pool of lava?" Mairon's attention was immediately pulled from Morrigan to the fact that the Dwarven city had a pool of lava.

"Under and all around the city." Gimli answered with a subtle smirk, "So even poor folk like me never had to worry about getting cold."

* * *

**Hut in the Wilds**

Contrary to what they dreaded, the trek through the wilds took little time for the wardens. Now it was as if they were in a completely different area of the wilds, the air was clearer and a small cottage could be seen.

"Greetings mother..." Morrigan said to the old woman sitting on a tree trunk in front of the house as she led the recruits there, "I bring before you nine grey wardens who-"

"I see them girl." The woman barked and sat up, "Much like I expected."

"Are we supposed to believe that you were expecting us?" Alistair's skeptism was shared by most except for Gilead, who cautiously stayed in the back of the group.

"You are required to do nothing. Lest of all believe." The old woman stated, "Shut ones eyes tight or open one's arms wide. Either way, one's a fool."

"She's a witch I tell you!" Daveth cried, "We shouldn't-"

"What's the big deal about magic?"

"Do you didn't see our weapons sheathed in fire, casteless?"

"Quiet, all of you!" Jory shouted to the dwarves and Daveth, "If she's really a witch do you wanna make her mad?"

"There is a smart lad...sadly irrelevant to the grand scheme of things. But it is not I who decides."

"In other words, you will not last the night." Mairon said, patting Jory on the back as if Flemeth had foreseen his death.

"Believe what you will," Flemeth told the group and then faced Mairon, "Do you not cringe before the unknown?"

"Believed or not, some things must simply be accepted." Mairon answered the old woman, as far as he was concerned, magic existed therefore nothing was impossible.

"Ah,  _there_  is the answer I sought. An open mind, and not one made of mush."

"Now can you teach me to turn into a dragon?" Mairon asked with the same glee as he had Morrigan.

"And what of you?" Flemeth asked, ignoring a dissapointed Mairon and focusing on Lily, "Do you believe as the others do or do you possess a different viewpoint?"

"I really don't know what to say-"

"There in lies more wisdom than one would attribute." The witch stated, "So much about you is uncertain, are you a rose of sapphire? or perhaps a flower that refuses to yield under the long winter of it's discontent? There is strength within your stem, poison that lies within the barbs running along your foundations and that poison has served you well. But will that poison also cause the death of those you love? Will it blind you to help from those who can do that which you painfully cannot?"

"A seeker cast away from his people." Maybe it was the sickness from the taint, but Gilead dared not stir under the Witch's gaze, her gaze frightened him to much, "Shall you find what your people desire or what they will need to survive what lies on the horizon? You know that the path you walk shall lead to your liberation from death but will it lead back to your people? Or will the seeker constantly seek for another goal until he wonders the earth, never content to stay even amongst other descendents of the Dales?"

"Is this a wolf I see?" It didn't take much for the group to know what the Witch had noticed about Revan, "Raised by the proud hounds of Ferelden, yet you still bear the alpha mark from another breed. Will the mark help save the land that took you in or will it ensure it's doom? Will you rise to the challenge of your rivals and reclaim that which does not belong to them? Can you smooth out the differences of those assembled around you in order to lead them against the darkness?"

"You roll your eyes my pet from the dust of the mountains." Brosca regarded the old woman neutrally, "You seem very...aware...of your surroundings, so much more than most ever shall be. Born in the shadows, you developed your intellect for the day that you may prove others wrong for the brand they placed on your face. Though I wonder, will this leave you as a rat aware of the maze that it will never escape from? Or will you be the fish who leaps from the pond, grows legs and sacrifices his gills in exchange for lungs?"

"And you...I like you..." Mairon used a fold of his hood to whip his eye before Morrigan's mother continued, "You are a destroyer...as were the Magisters of old. There is much darkness in the world and I see that darkness within your eyes. I see that that darkness shaped you as you are. Who knows what dark secrets were whispered to you in the night? When despite your power, the light of suppression blinded you from destroying the walls that enclosed your potential. Now you have taken flight my friend and you have no intention of letting any power cause you to stop."

"Are you a seer?" Durin inquired before Mairon could repeat his question, "Because you seem to enjoy giving out a long analysis of a group of people whom you've just met. Specifically, you've focused on the elves, the mage, the noble and the casteless without any seeming regard for our commanding officer or for the other two recruits. Especially with the other two recruits, you've assumed them insignificant as though fate has already condemned them to die. Why is that so?"

"Here I see an unusual sight. A troll from amongst dwarves." The dwarf noble stiffened as soon as the Witch of the Wilds spoke, "For you speak without consideration for the thoughts of your listeners. To your mind, every word that you speak makes as much sense as the beliefs that shaped you. But to others, they will cut into their minds as deeply and painfully as the blows of your ax. It is common to see a dwarf with strength worth five times his height. Yet rare to not only see a dwarf with strength worth more than that but is also just as adept with the words of his mind."

"They did not come to listen to your tales mother."

"True. They came for their treaties." Morrigan's mother told her daughter before turning to the trunk and pulling something out of it, "And before you begin barking, your precious seals wore off long before this day. I have protected them."

"You-oh," It apparently took a while for Alistair to realize that this old woman had assisted them, "You protected them, thank you."

"And why not?" The witch approached Revan and handed over a worn but intact booklet containing the treaties, "Take these to your Grey Wardens and tell them that this Blight is far greater than they realize."

"What do you mean?" Revan was now confused, how could the King, who'd called on all of Ferelden's might and the Grey Wardens be underestimating a blight? Four times a blight had ravaged the land and none of those periods were pretty at all.

"Either the threat is more or they realize less." The old woman answered, "Or perhaps the threat is nothing! Or perhaps they realize nothing!"

"How would you know of this?" Durin asked in suspicion.

"Do I? Perhaps I am simply an old woman with a penchant for mold deparchments!"

"Someone's been smoking a little too much leaf." Brosca whispered to Daveth.

"Oh do not mind me." The old woman laughed, apparently unnerving Gilead all the more, "You have what you came for."

"Time for you to go."

"Do not be ridiculous girl." The old woman told her daughter, "These are your guests!"

"Oh...very well..." Morrigan didn't look any happier than Alistair to have to accompany the wardens any longer, "Follow me...I'll show you out of these woods."

* * *

**Duncan's bonfire, nightfall**

"You return. Have you been successful?" Duncan asked when the warden recruits returned to the tent.

"...It...wasn't easy..." Alistair started, apparently phased by the occurance in the wilds, "No thanks to you lot!"

"Hey! Mairon's the one who summoned the Ash Demon!"

"And you were the one who thought it was a great idea to stroll through the swamp with a Witch of the Wilds!" Daveth shot at Lily.

"We got the treaties from her mother didn't we?" Durin inquired.

"Yes because her creepy-ass mother made it all worth it didn't she?" Alistair asked the dwarf.

"Alistair, the affairs of apostates are no longer your concern." Duncan stated to Alistair, "You are a Grey Warden now, leave Chantry affairs to the Chantry.

"So how bout this Joining Duncan?" Gimli asked, wanting to get this over with so he could move on with his life.

"Now that we have the ingredients, we may proceed with the Joining..." For whatever reason, the group now grew quiet at the mention of the joining, "I'll have to take some time and meet with the Circle mages to prepare the ritual. Alistair, take them to the old temple."

* * *

"The Joining..."

"I don't think Anders ever said anything about his..." Varric mentioned, "You sure it's wise to share this tidbit with a Chantry Seeker and a dwarf like me?"

"I honestly doubt I'm telling you anything that you don't have an idea about..." The orator admitted, "Plus...the two of you are somehow on the Warden's Most Trusted List..."

* * *

**Ostagar Temple Ruins**

"The more I hear about this joining the less I like it."

"Are you blubering again?" Daveth now seemed annoyed with Ser Jory's blubbering, in fact all of the recruits were growing more frustrated, uneasy and impatient as they waited for Duncan while Alistair watched them from a distance.

"I agree with Jory." Lily sharped her knives against each other, only adding to the tension, "We just killed off a small army of darkspawn by ourselves, wasn't that our test?"

"I doubt it." Durin stated while he fiddled with his beard, "Anyone can kill a darkspawn that's why they work as a horde. Perhaps it was a test to see if we would be smart enough not to be tainted or let darkspawn blood get on our wounds."

"Why all these damned tests!" Jory shouted, "Have I not earned my place?"

"Maybe it's tradition. Maybe they're just trying to annoy you." Daveth snickered.

"I swear I'm the bravest man here." Mairon muttered outloud, "And I'm the glass cannon."

"What's that?"

"Read it in a tome somewhere..." Mairon replied to Gimli, "Some Qunari weapon that was known to blast through the strongest Tevinter fortress but could be shattered by a mere arrow."

"Jory, you heard what Duncan said earlier." Revan reminded the knight, "Do you really think they would put us through something that would kill us when they're in such need of recruits?"

"I only know that my wife is with child in Highever." Jory lamented, "If they'd warned me..."

"If you have such a problem with being here then leave." Lily didn't seem to be in the mood to be reassuring to a cowardly human, "Shed your armor and dignity and you'll make it before anyone knows you left."

"Not everyone is without fear." Revan barked at the city elf and then turned back to Jory, "Stand strong friend, there is little point in fleeing the coming storm."

"I say let him. There's clearly no reason why he should be here." Lily blurted out and pointed to the empty injury kits that Revan swiped from her to help Jory, "Out of all of us here, Jory's contributed the least except soil himself when a darkspawn appears."

"And what would you know about fear and helplessness, my lady?" Knives were drawn as Lily held out her 'knife-ears'.

"More than you'll ever know Shemlan." The city elf stated and sheathed her weapons while Revan just looked at her with a mixture of contempt and surprise.

"Wait till after the battle to slap and fight." Gimli added in, "Jory, just hang tight and if this is something that ain't worth the long haul, I'll signal you."

"I will not run..." Jory said to Brosca, "It just doesn't seem fair."

"Would you have come if they'd have warned you?" Daveth inquired, "Maybe that's why they do it. The wardens do what they must right?"

"Including sacrificing us?"

"You lot to appease a horde of darkspawn." Mairon stated out loud, "Fair trade to me."

"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the blight."

"You sound certain." Gilead said to the cutpurse from Denerem, "What if our "sacrifice" does nothing?"

"Maybe you'll die, maybe we'll all die lads, but what are our lives worth if we ain't willing to shill out for the greater best?" Daveth inquired, "I'm a curthroat and a thief, frankly I don't know if I should be here myself. But I've been given a chance by the wardens and I ain't gonna let it go to waste. Sir elves, you probably don't like humans right? What about your own people, what'll happen if we fail here? You think the darkspawn will spare your families cause they ain't human? Sir. Revan, you've got your reminder right behind you, right?"

"You think I forgot?" Revan could feel his sister's glance from behind him. She was probably talking to Rabbit about what this Joining would be all about. With any other dog, that would be crazy. But a mabari, they're smart enough to know when not to talk.

"So what about us dwarves?" Durin inquired, "Our war with the darkspawn is an eternal conflict."

"Maybe so..." Daveth honestly didn't know much about dwarven culture, "But would you like em to be barging on your doorsteps led by an archdemon?"

"How inspiring..." Mairon said as he clapped for Daveth, "Being talked to by a cuthroat..."

"And you sir mage." For whatever reason, Daveth didn't seem afraid of the present mage despite his fear of magic earlier, "You ain't the nicest guy of the bunch, but doesn't staying mean that you'll be on the "losing side" and therefore have more chance to kill things?"

"Never thought of it that way..." Mairon scratched his chin and started counting out the many spell combinations that could best kill people.

"And Ser Knight, wouldn't you give anything to save that pretty wife of yours?"

"I've just never faced a foe that I could not fell with my blade."

"At last we come to the Joining." The recruits turned when they heard Duncan's voice, "The Chantry teaches us that it is the hubris of men which brought the darkspawn into our world. The Mages of Tevinter had sought to usurp Heaven and instead, they destroyed it."

"They were cast out, twisted by their own impurity, and so they returned to the world as the first darkspawn and brought upon us the First Blight." Duncan continued as he walked over to an empty table set up earlier, "The Grey Wardens were founded after nearly a century of bitter war against the darkspawn hordes when humanity stood on the brink of extinction. So it was that twenty-one veteran warriors of the Tevinter Imperium came together in a fortress within the Anderfalls and underwent the Joining."

"Those first twenty-one then drank of darkspawn blood. Twelve would go on to found the Grey Wardens and master their taint." Duncan finished, setting a silver cup upon the table and facing the recruits.

"We're...gonna drink the blood of those...creatures?"

"As the Twenty-One did before us. As we did before you," Duncan told Jory, "This is source of our power and our victory."

"Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint." Alistair explained, "We can sense it in the darkspawn and use it to slay the Archdemon."

"Oh...so that's how it's done..." Mairon muttered, remembering about a journal he'd read back at the tower, "I think I know what Liam's missing page was all about now..."

"Hold on. You mentioned the twenty-one who first went through the joining." Lily had heard the tale of the first twenty-one, but she caught an inconsistancy that worried her, "But then you said that only twelve actually founded the order."

"It was no mistake, my dear." Duncan told Tabris, "I will not lie, we Grey Wardens pay a heavy price for the taint we hold. Some will be called upon to pay sooner than others Not all who drink the blood will survive."

"So this could just as well kill me?" Gilead was quietly furious. He had abandoned his clan, his family and his whole way of life for the slim chance that he would'nt be killed by ritual poison? If so then he was better off with his clan.

"What are ya, deaf? That's what he's been saying the whole time!" Gimli shouted, equally nervous about the prospect of a painful death. Though if only 9 out of the first 21 died then the chances of survival were likely a bit over 50%, so they were fair odds.

"We say only a few words prior to the joining." Duncan said to the recruits, "But these words have been said since the first, Alistair."

 _Join us, brothers and sisters._ Alistair began, _"Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilent."_

_Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be foresworn._

_And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten,_

_And that one day, we shall join you._


	5. Ostagar: The Joining before the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The recruits accept Duncan's "offer" of Kool-Aid and get a kick from the flavor...
> 
> Except Jory's felt more like a stab.
> 
> Then they go to a "boring" meeting discussing the battle that will determine Ferelden's fate.

"Time for a drink!" Mairon however was halted by Revan's arm. Much to his annoyance, "First into the fray and the last to leave? Fine."

"Someone must test the waters." Revan said to the mage before he started walking towards the chalice. Maybe it was just him, but Revan thought he could feel the darkness eminating from the taint within the concoction. He stopped, hesitation had gripped the young Cousland, as well as feeling his strong sister wrap her arms around his waist. Her grip had only grown stronger, "Don't worry about me sis. It's probably just wine with a bitter taste." He didn't want to look back. She was worried for him of course, afraid that he would die from this ritual. But he couldn't afford to waver now, not with the Blight just on Ostagar's doorstep, not with the fate of Ferelden upon his shoulders.

He had given father his word.

"Revan. Step Forward." Revan inhaled when he felt his sister release him and stepped towards the cup in Duncan's hands. He accepted the drink and took only a single swallow. He didn't how many he needed to take, maybe he had taken too little or maybe too much. His mind leaned toward the latter as a gripping pain choked his breath and darkness consumed his vision.

"Brother!" Alistair held back Lady Cousland as Revan's eyes grew white. The young man fell to his knees, a single sound couldn't be heard from his mouth, neither breath nor cry. The recruits all watched with dread and anticipation, if Revan didn't make it, they're willingness to take this ritual would plummet.

"You have accepted the call, from this day forth, you are a Grey Warden." Duncan stated, Revan slowly stood up on his feet, his head bowed and his dark features strained. Shatele immediately broke out of Alistair's gentle grip and ran over to her brother, slowly leading him to a place to sit where Rabbit waited with a piece of meat he'd found.

"Gilead. Step Forward." The Dalish elf stepped towards Duncan and slowly took his drink, "From this day forth, you are a Grey Warden." Gilead reached for his face as pain flamed through his veins. His eyes grew white as he froze in place, the whispers of darkness surrounding him, beaconing him into the darkness where his vigil would now be. The whispers grew less loud after the longest moment in his life, he stiffened and slowly walked away before setting himself against the ruin wall.

"Mairon. Step-" Mairon practically snatched the chalice from Duncan's hand and began to drain it as though he were at a party. Fortunately, Duncan tilted the cup from the mage's mouth and took it from his hands, "That's quite enough." Duncan stepped back as Mairon awaited the change.

Only to be met with silence.

"Well this is odd. I don't feel any-" The mage screamed in pain and surprise, he felt as though a fire were running through his veins. Far stronger than the lyrium he had used at the Circle Tower, more sinister than any demon he had encountered, and the pain he felt, the pain was as though a thousand Templars had struck him all at once...

"Is he?" Alistair watched as the mage shook as if electrified and cried out in delight that scared the ex-templar. When the mage collapsed, Alistair was certain that he had died.

"From this day forth, you are a Grey Warden." Mairon opened a single eye and raised his arm to give Duncan a thumbs up before he slowly dragged himself to a counter.

"Damn it...why don't they ever die when you want them to?"

"That's horrible!"

"I was only joking." Alistair assured Lady Cousland, though his words had a certain truth. Mairon was the kind of mage that looked like he would be right at home in the Tevinter Imperium. It wasn't that he enjoyed being a mage, he reveled in the power it gave him. Not the most favorable trait for a Grey Warden, but with the Blight around, it was fortunate that mage was now on their side.

"Durin. Step Forward." The Dwarven noble approached Duncan without fear and took his drink. The dwarf groaned and his arm's shook wildly at his side, but Duncan didn't seem concerned about his chances, "From this day forth, you are a Grey Warden." Durin exhaled loudly and stumbled backward, but managed to catch himself on the wall and stood, breathing heavily from his ordeal.

"Four recruits in a row and no one has died yet." Though he hadn't seen many Joining's, Alistair had never heard of one where more than two recruits took the joining at the same time and had consecutive survivors in a row, "I think this Joining just broke a record..."

"Daveth. Step Forward." Daveth took the cup from Duncan and quickly drank several swallows of the concoction. The three recruits who'd yet to take their drink watched as the cutpurse was affected. He cried out in pain as he reached for his throat. His body stiffened at once as blood flowed out from his pale white eyes.

"Maker's Breath!" Jory muttered as Daveth screamed as his legs lost their footing and slammed his knees to the ground. His hand on his throat, unable to breath while the blood flowing out of his eyes darkened and dripped onto the ground built by Tevinter magisters.

"I am sorry, Daveth." The cutpurse reached up to a remorseful Duncan, his head fell to the ground with a thud as his body grew still and darkened blood dripped from his mouth, "Step forward Jory." The air grew cold when a sword was drawn from it's sheath. Those who watched held their breath, Jory shook with fear and horror was etched upon his face. But the grip on his sword had never been tighter.

"...I have a wife...a child..." Jory pleaded, though he looked fearful of the approaching Duncan he had no intention of backing down, "Had I known-"

"There is no turning back." Duncan walked towards the knight, the Cup of Joining still in his right hand as the Commander of the Grey stared straight into Jory's soul with the gaze of a predator that had smelt blood.

"No! You can force this on me! There is no glory in this!" The cup was set on the table before Duncan drew out his knife. The knight desperately thrust out his sword, the frantic attack was blocked and diverted with ease. Within a second, metal pierced into flesh as Jory gasped from the knife driven through his lung.

"I am sorry..." Duncan's whisper fell on deaf ears, Jory was dead within seconds of Duncan's attack. The commander pulled out his knife and turned from his victim. The knight fell upon his back, his eyes still wide open with the shock of fear, "But the joining is not yet complete...step forward Gimli." Blood flowed freely from Jory's body, the knight's eyes staring towards the remaining two recruits.

"Ya crazy...I...how do I know that-"

"This is not a choice." Duncan warned the dwarf rogue, "You are not...a volunteer...you were conscripted...whatever value you hold to your life is nothing compared to the sacrifice that the Blight necessitates."

"This is a surface problem! What the hell-" Brosca's gaze shifted from the cup in Duncan's hand to the freshly slain corpse of Ser Jory. He growled, but he knew which choice he would take, "Eh...what do I got to lose..." The casteless tattoo rose with the squint of Gimli's right eye, a reflex from whenever he anticipated Beraht's punch. First few days on the surface and his own fate was wrenched from his hand yet again. With this in mind, Brosca resisted the urge to spit on Duncan when he took the cup from the warden's blood stained hands and tried not to smell the drink he drank...

"From this day forth, you are a Grey Warden." Duncan stepped back from Gimli as the dwarf's eyes turned white and he exhaled as he fell backwards onto the ground. Apparently he would live because the warden didn't bother checking if the dwarf had survived. "Lily, the time has come."

"You...why should I..." Tabris had been shaken ever since Daveth's death and Jory's murder. Seeing Brosca still breath did little to comfort her, her hands were reaching for her knives as her own eyes were fixed on the dagger still in Duncan's hand, "What will you do? Kill me?"

"If you leave me no other choice, then yes." Duncan answered gravely, "But what of your family in Denerim? Did you not come here to protect them from the Blight?"

"Duncan..." Alistair spoke up, "If she doesn't wish-"

"Choice is a luxary we cannot afford." Duncan quickly told the ex-templar, "Let me make this clear to you my lady. If you have no desire to undergo this Joining, then I will have to kill you to keep it's secret. Then, a messenger will be dispatched to your family, saying of how you died as a coward even before the Darkspawn came."

"You..." She'd thought this shemlan was different. But now he was threatening to label her a coward in the eyes of her family in Denerem, "How...dare...you..."

"Then prove me wrong." Lily narrowed her eyes on Daveth's body before stepping forth. Practically snatching the cup from Duncan's hand and draining the remainder of the drink, "Fate has called you to the shadows. From this day forth, you shall stand vigilant, forswearing all other bonds for the sake of humanity. From this day forth. You are a Grey Warden." Lily wasn't truly listening anymore, like those who'd gone before her. Her hearing was now consumed by the voices, the call of the darkness she had chosen to join. Her blue eyes were consumed by a pale white light as the world around her became nothing more than a whisper.

Compared to the roar of the Arch Dragon that now welcomed her.

"It is finished...welcome." Lily opened her eyes, still dimmed from the ordeal she had undertaken, she regarded the faces of Duncan and Revan with mild relief.

She was relieved to see two humans, lovely.

* * *

"Two deaths..." Alistair lamented as Tabris rose from where she had fallen, "In my Joining, only one of us died but it was...horrible."

"How do you all feel?" Duncan regarded the new wardens with a countanance of calm, but Alistair knew he was concerned for their well-being. Every new warden was to be treated as family, what they shared, could never be replicated.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to feel every once of blood in your veins move?" Mairon regarded his hand as if it were a new discovery, likely feeling the taint newly course through his veins, "I...I'm going to enjoy this!"

"I thought he was cracked before..." Brosca chuckled as Amell laughed maniacally. The dwarf had his hand over his head like he'd been hit by a hammer that cracked his skull, "Me...I feel like I've reliving the worst hangover I've ever had."

"I feel the poison of the taint recede from my lifespan..." Gilead was on a ledge overlooking the lower levels of Ostagar, his gaze fixed on the wilds to the south, "But the taint itself...is still there..."

"Perhaps...this is how the Legion of the Dead feel when..." Durin looked to be taking the experience in stride, his proudful bearing had not weakened in the slightest. But now he was more, thoughtful, "No...this is worse..."

"Nothing you said could have prepared us..." Revan was still a bit out of it from his experience. Thankfully being around his sister and dog managed to calm him down a great deal. But the intensity of his eyes was still a marvel to behold.

"Such is what it takes to be a Grey Warden." Duncan told the young Cousland, the warden commander's gaze lingered on Revan before he turned his gaze to Lily. Who was still very shaken.

"...I...still can't believe..." The city elf's stare lied upon the pair of covered bodies next to the table where the cup now stood empty. It was bad enough having to clean up the bodies, but even Alistair cringed at the method of their death.

"It brought me no pleasure to kill Jory or to threaten any of you." Duncan explained to Tabris, his gaze following hers, "But when Jory drew his sword, he left me no choice. Had you have been resolute in your refusal, you would have suffered the same fate."

"Just the like the Templars at the Circle...jump into the Fade to face an all powerful demon or have your head chopped off." The group regarded Mairon as an insect that they wanted badly to crush, "What?"

"To be fair, if you'd said, 'Drink this darkspawn blood before I stab repeatedly with my knife,' I've have done it." Gimli laughed but stopped when he saw that no one else was in the mood for a laugh. The moment was still to near for it to be spoken of lightly.

"The Blight demands sacrifices from us all." Duncan reminded the new wardens, "Thankfully you stand here as proof that not all of them are in vain."

"Did you have dreams?" Alistair asked the recruits, directing his question to those who'd passed out for even a few seconds, "I had terrible dreams after my joining."

"Such dreams come when you begin to sense the darkspawn as we all do." Duncan seemed slightly dismissive of Alistair's prodding, likely because there were more pressing matters to attend to, "That and many other things can be explained in the months to come."

"Before we're done there is one last part to the joining..." The ex-templar reached into his pack and brought out the pendants he'd prepared, "We take the remaining blood and place it in a pendant...to remind us of those who didn't make it this far." It was probably unnecessary, but Alistair took a moment to catch the eyes of each of the recruits. They were shaken, some even regretting this course of action, but they were starting to sense what he and Duncan sensed. They were beginning to understand their calling.

"Take some time." Duncan advised the recruits, "When you are ready, the king requests your presence at the war council to be assembled."

"All of us?" Duncan nodded to Durin's question, "Why?"

"Why question the fool's logic?" Gilead's ear flinched as if he'd heard something. Alistair immediately saw where this was going, "Do you have a problem, Cousland?"

"Keep in mind. When my king falls, your clans won't be too far behind..." Maherial turned to face the human noble, Cousland didn't back down at all. Alistair couldn't help but chuckle as the two walked over to confront the other. A Blight was just like a party, one where the guests could kill each other before the darkspawn politely knock on the door.

"That is enough." Duncan stepped between the two. He didn't go for this blade, but the mere gaze of his eyes told the two warriors to stop their bickering. The Warden-Commander then turned to address all of the new wardens, "Perhaps none of you understand this, but Ferelden...in fact, the entire world is at stake. Whatever your personal feelings or beliefs concerning each other, put them aside now before they lead to a premature death. You are no longer nobles, elves, from the cities or the dalish, dwarves, thieves, murderers, warriors or mages. You are Grey Wardens, sworn to do whatever is necessary to fight the Darkspawn and defeat the Blight. The sooner you all understand that you will have to work together, the better off you will be when the time comes to fulfill your pledge. These petty arguments concerning your differences are no longer relevant. The world now requires the service of the Grey Wardens and you will oblige that requirement with your skill or your life.

"Even now, you all sense the growing darkness just south of this fortress, you all hear it?" Alistair's inquiry may not have been necessary, but it was needed for this wardens to understand the true threat. Then they could at the least, put their differences aside until after it was gone."

"The horribly decayed dragon...the archdemon?" Lily asked, her body now shook with dread, "I always imagined that they'd be bigger and tougher looking."

"I assure you, the archdemon will be no easy task to handle." Duncan answered the young elf girl, "That is why it is imperative that all who can are united against it's threat."

"Duncan is right." Gilead spoke up, "Thedas, stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. We will unite or we will fall." Alistair felt that the Dalish hunter's words could've been a bit better chosen, but at least he had his priorities in the right place.

"Consider my words and try not to tarry...brothers and sister..." Duncan then took his leave and left the old temple area with Alistair following behind, wandering if it was a good idea to leave the new wardens behind by themselves.

* * *

Mairon was having a great day. It hurt at first, but he reveled in it. The taste that lingered on his mouth, the smell from the blood spellt, the power that now coursed through his veins. Becoming a Grey Warden had now opened his horizons greater than he could imagine and now the world would no longer be able to cage him.

But his companions threatened to debunk his mood.

Whenever he bothered to listen, they were still going about how much they hated each other. He had to admire how the elves would tag-team Revan, but the noble still held his ground. The dwarves, they largely attempted to ignore each other. Maybe it had something to do with the Dwarven Caste system and that they used to be on opposite ends.

It was all very dull to the mage, weren't they all there to fight darkspawn?

"My mother taught me well..." Mairon heard Revan tell the city elf, obviously they were going back and forth about how elves are the greatest victims in Thedas and humans are bastards. Yet you never hear about anyone blowing up a Chantry in protest of Mage rights, what was up with that?

"Yes, I'm sure she was a proper little bitch just like the rest of your kind-" Mairon's interest was raised when he heard steel cut into stone. He looked up from where he sat to see that Revan had apparently tried to kill Lily.

"Don't. Insult. My. Mother!" The noble roared like a feral animal. The man needed to get laid, maybe Lily would be willing to help with that?

Based on the kick she gave to the side of his jaw, maybe not.

"Brother stop!" Cousland's fine-ass younger sister stepped between the two, her shield covered back to Lily and her arms around Revan attempting to calm him. "She doesn't know! She didn't mean to offend her!"

"Wait...is she...dead?" Mairon chuckled, the woman wasn't paying attention to the first conversation the king had with the Cousland siblings.

"Yes." Revan answered, stating the obvious in Mairon's account, "The proper little bitch stayed behind with my father to buy me and my sister time to escape from the treacherous noble who betrayed my family, killed my brother's wife and his little boy...and likely slaughtered everyone they could find in the walls of the castle where I was raised. So forgive me if my little action is not at all reflective of the honor of the Cousland Family!"

"I...I didn't know-"

"That's right...you didn't know...you didn't care..." Revan turned away from the city elf and just stood on the edge of the old temple area. Lily threw off her shock and stormed away from the group, likely to find that blacksmith and get better armor before her luck ran out.

"Did he cut this Tevinter piece of architexture in half?" Durin gasped, shocked by the damage to the landscape, "It took hundreds of years to carve this!"

"I'm just glad this piece of "architexture" wasn't anyone's head." Mairon brought up, "Remind me not to piss him off."

"He has way too many "anger triggers'." Gimli remarked, "Talk bad about the king, he gets mad. Talk about his momma, he'll try to kill you. Hit on his sister, he threatens you. Say something about Ferelden, he'll be offended. Bring up anything minimally good about Orleisans (which is rare) and he'll accuse you of treachery."

"Heh! I bet if I said his poddle-"

"Rabbit is a mabari hound." This wasn't terribly relevant, but Mairon noted how similar Revan's knife was to Duncan's, "Not...an Orleisan poddle...got it?" Cousland swiftly brought his hand from the mage's neck and walked away.

"See what I mean?" Mairon strongly resisted the urge to set Brosca on fire but since there was a battle coming, he could just do it there.

* * *

**Ostagar, Main Camp**

"Brother. I'm not going to change my mind." As Revan had thought, his sister, now arrayed in a light chainshirt skirt with thigh length stockings under armored boots.

"Shatele, there's already troops stationed there, you don't need to needlessly endanger yourself."

"It's just a tower. I'm just going to help guard it from darkspawn." As Revan thought, she was going into this like it would be a simple walk to the market, "I heard a rumor that they might've enslaved a dragon."

"That's just a story cooked up to scare newer soldiers." At least that is what Revan hoped. In a sense, there was a dragon enslaved by the Darkspawn, and he prayed to the Maker that it would not show itself.

"Alright, where else will I go then?" As Revan thought, Shatele had planned on Revan's objection, "It's too late to flee north and everywhere else will be a war ground soon anyway."

"I guess your right..." Revan agreed reluctantly. It was too late to send Shatele to Denerem and even then, that was too close to Amaranthine, "I just...I promised mother and father I'd look after you."

"I know..." Shatele's smiled was erased, Revan should've known better than to mention their parents so soon after their..., "But I promised to look after you too. We have to stay together. If you're going to fight the darkspawn, I'll be right there besides you."

"Shatele-"

"If that demon shows up, I'll kill every darkspawn that comes near the wardens to let you take it out." Shatele's features were sad, but he saw in her green eyes, the same determination that had been in their mothers. Shatele was a Cousland afterall, "But I won't abandon you! Don't you...don't ask me to leave someone else that...that I..."

"I miss them too." Revan slowly embraced his sister. He knew she was going through, that thought caused a tear to run down his check, "If you want to cry then..."

"I can't!" Revan heard his sister cry out, "I just feel so...empty...so...angry!" He felt the exact same way, the Cousland family had been faithful to Ferelden ever since before the Orleisans, "I want them all with me now...Gilmore...Fergus...Papa...Mother...Oren...oh Oren..."

"They would've been proud of you." Revan wished his sister hadn't mentioned any names. Gilmore had stayed with what remained of the garrison to hold back Howe's men...Fergus, somewhere in the Wild's scouting for the darkspawn...unaware that his son...

Unaware that his brother had failed to protect his son.

"Oren always wanted to see a griffon." Shatele reminesced, somehow giggling sadly, "Is there chance that-"

"Can't say." Revan answered, glad to be able to bring the conversation from that dreadful topic. It was too fresh on Revan's mind, too close on his heart, "Remember when everyone thought dragons were extinct? Now they've got a whole age named after them."

"I still wanna see a griffon. They don't breath fire and aren't as mean." Shatele did have a point, the Orleisans certainly thought the dragons weren't very nice. As much as any Ferelden would admit it, it was hard not to agree with them.

"Sorry to interrupt you..." Revan regarded Alistair with cautious courtesy, "The others are heading over to the meeting. They're waiting on you."

"Maker watch over and keep you brother." Shatele quickly squeezed her older brother into a hug before starting to walk off, "Which way is the tower Ser Alistair?"

"Alistair is just fine and," Alistair gave a glance to Revan as if asking for approval. Revan nodded and Alistair went up next to Lady Cousland, "I'll show you the way." Revan watched Alistair lead his sister out of the King's camp. He was glad in a sense, towers were usually the safest place in a fortress.

"Loyal aren't you?" Revan said to the family dog, who likely had been told to accompany him. Even as the elder brother, Shatele spent just as much time worrying for his safety as he did for her's, "Here you go and don't say that I never gave you a treat." Revan threw a small biscuit above Rabbit, which the mabari jumped up to catch in it's jaws. Thankfully, Revan never had to imagine what would happen if he was on the wrong side of the dog's bite.

* * *

**Ostagar Ruins, War Council**

"Loghain...my decision is final." Hearing a king arguing with his subjects was always a good sign. Durin sat back with the others and listened to the meeting of human nobles and their king with careful ear into their conversation, "I will stand beside the Grey Wardens in the coming battle."

"You risk too much Cailan." The older noble, Loghain Mac Tir from the sound of it, "The darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero."

"If that's the case perhaps we should await the Orleisan forces after all."

"I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we require the Orleisans to defend ourselves."

"It is not a fool notion." Cailan told his advisor, "Our arguments with the Orleisans are a thing of the past."

"If I may object with respect, your majesty." Another lord brought up, Arl Urien as Durin had overheard earlier, "Perhaps it isn't wise to blindly trust those who'd previously enslaved us."

"I understand perfectly...but the two of you will remember who is king." It was almost as bad as the Assembly back in Orzammar. If one sentence isn't right, they bicker and argue with their rightful king, "Besides, they're mostly composed of more wardens if what Duncan told me is true." Duncan merely nodded to the king. Like the other wardens, the warden-commander had remained silent during the meeting. Which seemed odd to Aeducan, he was always led to believe that Grey Wardens assumed direct command during the Blight.

"How fortunate that Maric did not live to see his son hand Ferelden back to it's oppressors."

"Then our current forces will have to suffice." Cailan turned from Loghain and faced the gathered Grey Wardens, "Duncan. Are your men ready?"

"They are, your majesty." Duncan's gaze drew from the king and to Revan who'd just arrived. The king followed Duncan's eyes and grew excited from Revan's arrival, as he had with the others.

"Young lord Cousland, I understand that congratualations are in order for you...as with your companions..." Needless to say, the king had a...less than warm opinion of certain new inductees of the Grey Wardens. Particularly Durin himself, who was still wearing the Templar armor from that incident earlier in the dary and Mairon.

Especially Mairon.

"Thank you, King Cailan." Revan told the King with a bow and walked over to stand next to Duncan. The city elf gave Revan an unsettling look before focusing her very hateful gaze on Arl Urien.

"I don't feel all that special..." The city elf muttered.

"Not as though I had a choice anyway." Brosca stated, no doubt whining that the surface wasn't as kind as the stone. The stone was in the foundations of the earth, did the castless think he could escape his place in the world by getting some sunlight?

"Nonsense! Every Grey Warden will be needed, you should be honored to have officially joined their ranks."

"Your fascination with legends will be your undoing Cailan!" Loghain bursted out, he wasn't all too thrilled with Grey Wardens doing their logical duty, "We should attend to reality."

"Because the fact that Grey Wardens have always been the ones to fight and end blights are legendary flights of fantasy!" Loghain was getting on his nerves, Durin couldn't help but not contain his outburst, "If you think you can fight the Blight by yourselves then by all means! Just try to fight the darkspawn without us."

"Anyhow...let's see about Loghain's boring strategy." Cailan stated to diffuse tensions, he walked over to the war table where a map of Ostagar was displayed, "The Grey Wardens and I will draw the darkspawn to attack our lines."

"Then you will alert the tower to signal my forces to charge from cover-"

"To strike the darkspawn. Yes, this is Tower of Ishal." The King didn't seem to intent on heavy details, "Who shall we leave this to?"

"If I might make a suggestion." The Castless spoke up with hand raised, "Straight on fighting is great and all, but what do ya surfacers got that would slow down the enemy?"

"The usual tactics." Cailan casually answered, "Hail of archery and hounds."

"Great and all...but what about traps?" The whole council stirred at Brosca's suggestion, "There's a huge wide open area between you and them right? Just lay out a bunch of traps...you'd be surprised."

"That's an excellent idea..." Cailan agreed like a little boy, "Why didn't we think of it before Loghain?"

"I can think of a reason." Mahariel muttered, earning a growl from Revan. It was a wonder that Duncan was saying nothing after that speech he'd given earlier.

"All we have however are some containers of shrapnel, caltrop, grease, and fire traps." Loghain listed off, "Nothing that will destroy the horde on it's own."

"Just put the shrapnal and caltrop traps in the fields in between you and where they'll come from." Brosca suggested, using an arrow to mark on the map, "The fire and grease traps can be placed on the outside of the woods."

"Or...we can set the bloody forest to the ground when they enter it." Mairon snapped his fingers to spark a single flame on his finger and ran it across the charted forest. The Cailan was visibly shaken while the rest of the meeting regarded the Mage Warden with caution.

"I...agree with Amell..." Mahariel stated, "The darkspawn will taint the trees anyway...better that their death is made to serve us."

"Then send word immediately! Relay to them the instructions of Warden Brosca! And tell the scouts to avoid the woods!" Cailan told a nearby messenger who ran off towards where the main army was preparing for the battle ahead, "As for the Tower of Ishal..."

"I have a few men stationed there." Loghain answered, "It isn't a dangerous task but it is vital."

"Then we shall send our best." Cailan turned to Cousland, "Revan, I'll leave you, Alistair and your fellows to light the beacon."

"You rely on these Grey Wardens too much." Loghain rebuked his king. Durin was surprised that Cailan was allowing it, their whole tone of conversation was alike to a father-in-law speaking with his daughter's husband.

"I agree with the Teryn." Urien spoke up, "Especially given, the more questionable members of their sortie."

"If you want to call me out go right on ahead." Lily flipped onto the table and sat down, staring straight into Arl Urien's eyes.

"Silence knife ears! I will not be talked down to by my son's murderer!" Urien shouted, though Lily merely tilted his head, "Grey Warden or not, once this is over, I will see you hanged from Fort Drakon itself-"

"Perhaps you should remember who is king, Urien." Cailan stated to the arl, coming between Lily and Urien, "For as long I am king, the Right of Conscription holds. This woman is a Grey Warden, or would you dare to defy my father's proclamation?"

"Your majesty, the tower and it's beacon are unnecessary." A before silent mage stated, "Just have one of the Circle mages-"

"We will not trust our lives to your spells mage," The also before silent Chantry priestess interrupted the mage, "Save your sorcery for the darkspawn." Then again, the mage had a point. Why not use Surface magic to light the beacon?

"Excuse me? Why are you here?" Durin asked the older human woman. She seemed surprised that she was even spoken to by a warden.

"I am the Grand Cleric of-"

"Yes, the leader of a Chantry." Durin told the priestess, who was now growing more frustrated upon seeing that this was the dwarf that wore Templar armor.

"That is correct-"

"Then why are you interfering with the affairs of wardens and kings when you should be attending to raising morale by telling the troops that their Maker is with them?" Was that not the point of religion? To put the masses at ease in order to allow them to better perform their tasks? At least that was how Durin always understood the role of religion.

"You dare tell me my-"

"Aeducan does have a point." Mairon spoke up, delighted to double team the grand cleric, "King Cailan, surely a Cleric has no place in a war council other than to give the Maker's Blessings, no?" One of the other mages clapped as the grand cleric, humiliated and brought nearly to tears stepped back in line.

"...A wonderful performance." The second mage, a man in his mid-forties, "But despite our preference, no mage here has the accuracy or power necessary to light this beacon. We shall turn our efforts towards supporting the troops. By unleashing upon the darkspawn every ounce of our RAGE!" The mage flicked up his fingers as he did a strange stuttering hiss that made several guards chuckle with contained laughter.

"Yes Profion!" Mairon joined in, it all made sense now. This Profion must've been one of Mairon's senior's in the Magi Tower, "The hordes of the darkspawn shall feel the wrath of magic-"

"The king stated for you to light the beacon Mairon." Duncan told the mage, causing him to snap his fingers in disapointment, "My lords, you should also consider the possibility of the archdemon's appearance."

"There have been no sign of dragons in the wilds." Loghain reported, "Though...we have had scouts who thought they heard a dragon's roar. But nothing as large as an archdemon."

"Isn't that what your men are here for Duncan?"

"I...yes." Durin wasn't quite so sure of Duncan's confidence now. True there were few wardens, but maybe there was no real plan.

"Speaking of which, what is the plan for when the archdemon appears?" Of course, it would be the Casteless who'd ask the obvious.

"We kill it of course." Cailan answered, "Actually...you kill it."

"Arrows through the eyes, burn of it's wings somehow and watch it fall." Lily chanted, lying on the table and using one of her knives to edge her nails.

"Enough!" Loghain, really wasn't doing a good job at pretending to enjoy the company of Grey Wardens, "This plan will suffice!" Loghain threw up his arms and turned from the council.

"Thank you Loghain." Cailan called out, "I cannot wait for that glorious moment. The Grey Wardens battle alongside the King of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil."

"Behead the Archdemon and march it back to Denerem as a trophy." Revan joined in, "Along with a banner smired with Howe's blood."

"Yes Cailan. Glorious moment for us all." Somehow, Durin had a feeling that Loghain's annoyance with the Grey Wardens, frustration with the king and paranoia of Orleis would probably screw them over eventually. After this battle, he would likely become a voice of dissent and try to start some civil war, all while ignoring the obvious overarching threat of the Blight.

Or maybe it was just Durin still sore over his brother.


	6. Ostagar: War unto the Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wardens make their preparations for the coming battle just seconds before the battle actually begins...
> 
> They also start a long-term bet on which combat style is deadliest: Sword and Shield; Bow; Crossbow; Two-handed weapons or MAGIC!

**Duncan's Bonfire**

"You heard the plan. All of you will go to the Tower of Ishal to ensure that the beacon is lit." Duncan stated to the seven wardens.

"What?" Alistair wasn't too keen to this recent task, "I won't be in the battle?"

"This is by the King's personal request Alistair." Duncan said to the ex-templar, "If the beacon is not lit, Teryn Loghain's men won't know when to charge."

"So he needs a group of grey wardens to stand on the tower and hold the torch just in case right?"

"I agree with Alistair, not all of us are necessary." Gilead pointed out, "Cousland, the mage and the rogues perhaps, but my bow would be better heard in the open plains."

"Dwarves do well in tight spots." Durin added, "Though I would prefer the open field for a change."

"Actually, I agree with wanting to stay outside." Gimli countered, "Less places for people to sneak up and-"

"That's not for us to decide." Revan stated to his fellow wardens, "If the King of Ferelden, who commands every single soldier in this fort, wants us to ensure that the beacon is lit. That is what we'll do."

"So if he told you to jump off the top of the walls would you do it?" Lily inquired of the Cousland noble.

"I'm loyal, not stupid. There's a difference." Revan answered Tabris.

"You sure you know that difference?" Revan simply rolled his eyes and attempted to not glance over to the city elf. There were more important things at stake right now.

"Revan is correct." Duncan's face was unchanged, but his tone indicated annoyance at the questioning of his charge, "The Grey Wardens are required to do any task in order to destroy the darkspawn. Even the insignificant roles may play an impact on the coming battle."

"I get it I get it." Alistair gave in, "Just so you know. If the king tells me to put on a dress and dance the remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no." Just then, the sound of slow, rhythemic clapping was heard.

"Bravo Alistair, way to take to stand!" Mairon complemented while he continued to clap slowly.

"I have my dignity...well some." Alistair told the mage, much to Duncan's annoyance.

"The tower is on the other side of the gourge in the king's camp. The way we came when we arrived"

"We just got here today, how would we forget that?" Lily said to the Warden Commander.

"You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance." Duncan continued, ignoring the remark of his charge, "From the top you will oversee the whole valley."

"When do we light the beacon?" Revan asked.

"We will signal you when the time is right. Alistair will know what to look for."

"What will we do then?" Brosca asked the commander.

"Stay with the Teryn's men and guard the tower. If you are needed, we will send word."

"How much time do we have to double check the essentials?"

"The battle is about to begin, make your preparations quickly." Duncan answered the Casteless, stating it as a warning for the other assembled wardens, "After I leave, you will have less than an hour."

"Are we in any danger?"

"Of course. Even the best prepared plan can be derailed." Mairon looked as though he wanted to smack Mahariel for that stupid and obvious question.

"Still..." Lily said, "I don't like this plan...just a bad feeling..."

"It's simple enough." Revan reassured her, "Between us and the army, what could go wrong?"

"What could go wrong? I've got a bad feeling?" Brosca told the two, "The two of you are asking for something to go wrong you know?"

"What about if the archdemon appears?" Mahariel asked, his shoulder trembling as he said the word archdemon.

"We soil our drawers that's what we'll do." Alistair joked, earning a chuckle from Brosca.

"Or I can freeze off his wing, Gimli and the Elf can shoot out it's eyes and then we'll carve out his flesh and have a feast with it." Mairon stated, "Assuming it died from the crash we'd induce."

"If that happens leave that to myself and the other wardens." Duncan stated to the new wardens, "I want no heroics from any of you."

"Yes, leave the heroics to that idiot Calian and his merry band of soldiers." Gilead repeated with a smirk.

"My my, don't you sound brave Master Elf." Revan was agitated by Mahariel's remark, but remained focus on the coming battle.

"From here, you are all on your own. Remember, you are now Grey Wardens. I expect you to be worthy of that title."

"Duncan." Alistair hesitated, but went on, "May the Maker watch over you."

"May He watch over you all." Duncan then walked from his still lit bonfire and preceded to leave the sight of the newly made wardens.

* * *

"Let's just get to the tower, it may not be the most glamorous job but we'd best not dawdle." Alistair suggested to the new wardens, seeing that none of them were taking his lead however. He simply signed and went for the gorge.

Revan sat against a small stool, nervously biting on the leftover bone from the lamb leg Rabbit had brought earlier. The dog was sitting next to him curiously as though he were asking what was wrong.

"Where is your sister?" Revan didn't bother looking up, he knew it was Lily likely prodding for another reason to piss on him.

"In the tower." He answered.

"Suppose that's why you're not objecting to this role that's been picked out for us." Lily said, streching her arms over her blue hair as Revan looked up to meet her eyes, "Look...what I said about your mother..."

"Are you trying to apologize without seemingly giving in to a human?" Seeing that he'd hit the mark, Revan continued, "I won't force you to strain yourself before the battle. I accept your intention."

"Don't think this means we're friends." Lily retorted, somehow Revan wasn't at all surprised to be honest.

"Never did." Revan admitted as he sat up, "So long as your hatred for my kind doesn't threaten the fate of my country, I'll take it."

"Don't brush me off as some pissy little girl." Tabris barked as Revan walked past her, "We might be against this blight, but it doesn't change how your kind treats mine."

"I'm not arguing with you. I've simply come to accept your point of view." Revan stated and turned back to face her, "Likely, you've faced enough humans who mistreated you to believe that all of us are bad. However, I have neither the required state of mind nor the time to try and convince you otherwise."

"I take you think that you believe yourself to be somehow better and above the rest of your kind." Seeing she'd rubbed a sore wound on the young Cousland, Lily smirked and curtsied the human noble, "So long as that attitude doesn't get me killed, I'll take it." Revan shook his head as the city elf left for the gorge.

"What?" Why Rabbit would find anything amusing about that exchange was beyond the Cousland, even if they're smart, mabari were still dogs and still...strange, "Think we'll be friends after this battle?" The dog barked happily, Revan exhaled as he knew what his loyal hound had answered, "See, this why I wish I were a dog sometimes, everything's so much simplier."

* * *

"That bow." Gimli brought up to Mahariel as they sorted through their ammunition of arrows and bolts, "You're not bad with it."

"Same to you with Kalah." Gilead replied to Brosca, "Though I doubt it requires much skill to wield a crossbow."

"You mocking me?" Gimli inquired, eyeing the dalish very carefully, "I built this baby from scratch. You? You cut off a branch, tied a rope to it's ends and called it a bow."

"And yet, both of your weapons are inferior to my ax." Durin stated to the bickering archers, "Forged of Dwarven steel and shall not burn under flames as cheap wood such as yours."

"Though I doubt any of you can match the shield of Highever, I have an idea." Revan suggested, confidence jumping from his armored form, "Let us consider this a contest. Whoever slays the most darkspawn is the better warden. Deal?"

"Oh I see." Durin stood up and brushed his beard with the flat of his axe, "Very well, allow me to explain how this...contest will occur." The gathered wardens decided to indulge the former casteless, "You, Brosca, Revan and myself are obviously proficient with our weapons of choice. Each of us are a match for any single darkspawn. However, it is inevitable that Mahariel and Brosca will leap ahead of the rest of us by at least ten because of their bow and crossbow while the rest of us must wait to get close to the enemy."

"I'm liking how this sounds so far." Brosca admitted, it was rare for a noble to admit that a casteless had an advantage over them.

"Therefore, the two of you will remain ten kills ahead of us..."

"Then what is the point of your-"

"Until you run out of arrows and have to use your low-quality axes and short swords." Mahariel and Brosca narrowed their eyes despite knowing that Durin spoke the truth, "At which point you shall cease to make a meaningful contribution to this battle."

"Oh! Oh! Can I add a point?" Though they knew they would regret it, they allowed Amell to say whatever it was that he had to say, "I'd just like to point out that I'm squishy."

"And?" Was the mage trying to mock the others? Brosca honestly couldn't tell.

"Therefore, I'll take more damage than any of you if I go first." Mairon continued, "So I'll need you archers and fighters to keep the enemy away from me."

"Why should we-"

"That way I will be able to draw on the nigh limitless mana pool of the fade to take full advantage of the very wide threat range of my magical talents that ranges through pure concentrated mana, psychological torment, spiritual manipulation and elemental devastation." The four wardens regarded Mairon quietly, as if they realized that there was a closer danger than the darkspawn, "Just don't try to run away, a lightning bolt only needs a single point of metal to home in."

* * *

C- "Thus the battle of Ostagar began..."

V- "Ten years later and people are still talking about it."

O- "Well it was a major turning point in Ferelden history given what all happened after that battle."

C- "Could it be called a battle? I've been told that Cailan's strategy was...less than adequate."

V- "That's because you've only heard from people who heard from other people who heard from soldiers who retreated with Loghain."

C- "And you would be able to give a better account Dwarf?"

V- "Unlike those others, I know people who were actually there."

O- "Then by all means, give this next part the proper intro."

V- "You're too kind Ferelden...Let's see..."

* * *

**Field of Ostagar**

Thunder boomed through the skies as the soldiers of Ferelden awaited the battle that loomed just beyond them...

Archers held their bows at the ready, dogs barked at the evil that none could see but in some form or another, all could feel...

The Holy Mother passed through the ranks, singing final rites for those the Maker had ordained to die and for those who would live forever changed by war.

"The plan will work your majesty." Duncan assured the King of Ferelden as they emerged from a stairway leading out from the ruins of Ostagar.

"Of course it will. The blight ends here!" Cailan called to the Warden Commander as they took their place on a barricaded ridge above the main group of the gathered army. From here, Cailan and Duncan overlooked the immediate field, allowing them to make any tactical change necessary in response to any sudden change.

"Nervous Carver?" Down on the field, two brothers from the town of Lothering stood within the vanguard of the army. Most of the men looked terrified and the army hadn't even shown itself yet.

"Do you have a reason why I shouldn't?" Carver asked his older brother, while he was barely come to manhood, Carver's elder brother by 6 years was already growing a remarkably tough seeming beard.

"Remember what that captain said?" Carver heard his brother ask, "Stick em with your blade enough and they'll go down."

"I still don't think you should be here." It wasn't just fear of being overlooked to worried Carver, his brother carried a secret. A secret that originally had their mother want him to stay home, but the eldest came, leaving their mother and Carver's twin sister behind in Lothering.

"And leave the fate of Ferelden in your hands alone?" Carver really hated it when his brother snarked like this was a light occasion. Didn't brother take a hint from the great storm that brewed above them?

"Quiet down you two!" Likely the company captain, Carver and his brother refocused on the horde that now showed itself.

A mighty line filled with creatures that stood upright like men, but had the faces of demons and the mindsets of beasts. The hurlocks seemed akin to little green goblins from old bedtime stories told to scare little children, but the hurlocks...they were more akin to walking corpses. It looked as though their skin could melt off of their heads at any time. Towering over them was a at least a dozen ogres, massive muscular demon with curved horns portruding from the top of the monster's head. But while most of the horde leapt up and called in anticipation of the battle to come, the ogres gave off an image of calm. As though they were living flood gates preparing to burst open upon their hated foes.

Carver stood his ground as did Hawke, but several soldiers trembled upon seeing this mighty horde. One soldier in particular, a volunteer from Dragon's Peak, back upped as if he were preparing to flee for his life. But stopped upon meeting the hand of a Royal Knight, the knight gave one look at the volunteer and he stopped running. But he didn't try to take his place back in the vanguard either.

"Mages!" Cailan called from above the army, "Fire!"

"LET THEIR BLOOD RAIN FROM THE SKY!" One of the Senior Mages cried out as the mages scattered amongst the ranks released their gift from the Maker. The soldier's felt a tremble in the earth as they watched the ground quake beneath the darkspawn horde they saw. The clouds lowered over the darkspawn and spewed forth a chained storm of lightning as fire built up around the trees from which they emerged and sparked a firestorm within the woods concentrated upon every inch where a darkspawn lied.

Even without those three major catastrophes, many lesser mages were simply firing into the hordes with either the mana of their staves or the moderate spells they had learned and mastered. Much to his frustration, this also included Carver's older brother.

"He said mages, no?" Was all he had to say for himself after firing a fireball into the horde. Despite being on the front line where everyone would see him. Sometimes Carver wondered why father placed him in charge of the family with such abandon as he now demonstrated.

The Army was awed and filled with fear at the power of magic demonstrated to them. Such power, such mastery of mana, it was no wonder that Andraste stated that magic was to serve man for it was far to easy for it to dominate him. So great were the darkspawn casualties that many hoped that the darkspawn would turn around and flee back to the deep roads now. If they could, the forest behind them had been aflamed by the firestorm of the Circle Mages which cut off that route of escape.

A pale blue glow sudden shined out from the forest and erupted into a burst of white energy that swept through the aflamed forest and blinded the forces of Ferelden within Ostagar. When the glow was cleared, the army saw that the magical onslaught had been stopped, the darkspawn slowly regathered their strength as though nothing had happened.

But that wasn't what had Gregor, a bearded man who stood next to Carver, stricken with fear and dread to where Carver's brother was no longer as confident. Upon a rock before the darkspawn vanguard stood an armored warrior arrayed in armor that allowed the figure to stand out from the rest of the horde.

He held nothing but a single staff arrayed with a red runic glow running down it's shaft, a sword and shield was sheathed and slung upon his back. The figure was arrayed in silver runic armor that looked left over from a much earlier age. It's imprinted runes gave off a light blue glow that contrasted with the Red emblem of a winged dragon upon the front of the chestpiece. It's similarly winged helm betrayed nothing about it's wearer despite the T-shaped visor, but the sight of those small white eyes looking out from the helm, it was as though one wondered through the abyss and then the abyss looked back.

The newcomer's arrival seemed to have inspired the darkspawn for now they roared at the army as though daring another onslaught. The woods that they tread through had been burned, but that burst of mana that most assumed to have come from the warrior kept the trees from being burned completely and only allowed for the horde to replenish it's numbers far more easily. Even the King's wavering confidence could no longer be hidden as he looked to the army then to the darkspawn and back to the focusing Duncan.

The figure held up it's staff and stabbed into the rock he stood on causing the army to cringe at what he would unleash. Fortunately, the warrior did nothing of the sort. But the Hurlock Alpha at the front of the horde flung out it's sword as the Darkspawn began their charge. They ran over the corpses of those felled by the magic storm as though they were no different then the grass of the earth. As the hurlocks and genlocks ran, the ogres marched briskly as rocks through a raging tide.

"Spring the traps!" At the King's command, a single soldier ran out in front of the army and cut a rope that he picked up from the soil. This caused hundreds upon hundreds of spiked balls to fly up upon the field immediately lying before where the darkspawn charged. Uncaring or knowing of what this meant, the darkspawn tread over the field. As soon as they did, hundreds of darkspawn slipped upon the grease covered ground, tripped upon spiked balls that now rested in the ground, or were covered with metal shrapnel flung from the armed traps they had set off.

"Archers!" Within the main body of the army, along the bridge or within the ruins of the fortress, archers readied their bows and fired upon advancing darkspawn. It was easy to pick their targets, they focused on the darkspawn who had avoided the trap-filled perimeter. Unless they're arrows were aflamed, in which case, they shot straight into where the grease lied to set it on fire, burning all of the darkspawn still trapped in it's sticky surface.

"Hounds!" At the King's word, the troops let loose the dogs of war and the mabari let loose a mighty roar. Though slowed, the darkspawn advanced with abandon, all to eager to take the hundreds of mabari charging towards them eagerly.

To Carver, it was rather tragic to watch. He was actually grateful for allowing his brother to persuade him to keep their hound at home. If he had been brought along, the poor thing would've been mounted on some darkspawn spear. Not to say that the mabari weren't slaughtered or that they didn't put up a fight because they certainly did. But they simply weren't built to go toe to toe with armored legions such as these. Carver wasn't alone of course, hundreds of soldiers, including the King himself, winced at this sad waste of life.

"For Ferelden!" The King cried out with his sword pointed towards the advancing horde. At once, the vanguard gave a battle cry and charged into the fray, hopes high and prayers said. Many on that frontline would most certainly die and it would not be a glorious death either. But they fought for their homeland, they fought for their families and their friends. Dying was always frightening to mortal men, but to know that death would come for a greater good, that gave them some comfort as the gap between them and the surge of darkness closed.

* * *

**Ostagar Gorge**

"A nice start." As much contempt as Dalish culture had for the Shemlen, Gilead was amazed enough by the start of the battle to ignore the large flaming boulder that flew over and hit into the ruin behind. Causing all but him and Mairon to flinch from the crashing sound. Gilead was focused at the moment. Focused on keeping track of the differences between darkspawn emissaries, alphas and regular rabble. Noting how they reinforced and supported the ogres that charged into the fray.

Never losing sight of the figure in the silver armor who remained upon that same rock watching the battle. Who was that warrior? It had emerged from the darkspawn and the they surged past him as though the warrior was one of them, but the warrior certainly didn't seem like one that would emerge from a ranks of the darkspawn. Whoever he was, Gilead kept his eye open for anything the warrior might do.

"Hey Gilead!" Brosca called from further along on the bridge, "I've got eight already!"

"I'm on fourteen!" Gilead called back before firing another arrow from the high ground of the bridge. Ever since he heard the King's cry for archery, Gilead had started firing into the horde, though it was unnecessary, his sharpened sight allowed him to follow his arrow enough to confirm a true hit.

"How are you keeping track of your kills?" Gilead heard Durin ask, likely to distract him before he got to far of a lead. While what Durin had said was true, the dwarf would be surprised as to how many arrows you could fit on your form.

"Let's just get across and get to the tower." Following Alistair's suggestion, Brosca and Mahariel ceased fire and joined the others in crossing the bridge. As they ran, a boulder slammed into a nearby balista and all but Aeducen to the ground and threw several of the soldiers near it off of the bridge.

"How come you're still standing!" Brosca cried in outrage as the group picked themselves up from the ground.

"The stone favors me Casteless." Durin answered with obvious pride, "Besides, I am wearing heavy armor and therefore that makes me heavier and harder to knock down."

"Won't that make it harder for you to get up when you do fall?" Mahariel pointed out, referring to the simple notion of the bigger one was, the harder it fell.

"That's besides the point, when in heavy armor it's harder to be knocked down." Both Gimli and Mahariel were speechless at the impossible logic of this dwarven noble.

"We'll discuss this after the battle!" With Brosca looking as he'd gained a head injury, Gilead agreed to postpone this pointless debate until after the battle was over. Despite another boulder slamming into the bridge, the group encountered little difficulty as they approached the area where they had first arrived at Ostagar. There, two soldiers were already running down from the ramp leading up to the Tower of Ishal.

"The tower...it's been taken!"

"What?" Alistair and several of the wardens were shocked by what one of the soldiers had said, "What do you mean?"

"They came up from the lower chambers..." The other soldier, a captain from the look of his helm, "The whole tower's overrun..."

"Then we'll have to light the beacon ourselves." Alistair stated aloud, the wardens stood in place for a moment, they're gaze fixed on the Tower of Ishal, knowing without the need to feel them that darkspawn overran every level of that tower.

"You!" Revan walked up to one of the soldier's and grabbed the collar of his chainshirt, "A young girl with yellow hair...did she-"

"I was in the higher levels and I saw a lass...with yellow hair." The soldier's friend, a younger fellow who had a large wound over his shoulder answered as Revan released the first defender, "Last I saw, she'd stayed behind to give everyone else-"

"So you're going to help us liberate the tower, no?" Revan asked the soldier. The soldier gave a single look back at the tower and ran off to the side as more soldiers trinkled down the ramp by less than half a dozen at a time.

* * *

Mairon laughed inwardly as the un-magical soldiers ran like cowards. How they even survived was beyond him, but he honestly didn't care. At least until he saw an individual robbed in mage clothes run down the ramp followed by a soldier with a mangled leg who just fell down and waited to bleed to death.

"What's your-" Mairon started to cry to the mage who'd ran out of the tower, until he recognized her as someone he knew...rather well, "Lealion Surana?"

"Mairon Amell?" The red-head mage ran over to Mairon and grabbed his face. She sniffed his nose and nodded to herself, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a Grey Warden now," Mairon told the elven mage, "You?"

"I came here with Wynne and got assigned to the tower" Lealion replied, "Great to see you..."

"Wish I could say the same..." Mairon confessed, earning a subdued smirk from Lealion, "There's two mages...I'm no longer unique..."

"Except that I've been trained to heal."

"Whereas I am the justification of people's fear of magic."

"Everyone wins!" Mairon and Lealion clapped their hands over their heads as more soldiers ran down the ramp and gathered themselves within the ruin.

"We need to go about this intelligently." Durin stated to the wardens, "Two groups of four to act as the van and rear guard and a group of three to follow the van."

"Revan, you lead the van! Mairon, you go with him!" Alistair suggested, as far as Mairon was concerned, this meant that he would get first choice on who to kill, "Was the door locked?"

"I don't know...maybe..." The captain answered, still aghast that this small group honestly considered retaking the tower.

"Fine with me." Tabris said, obviously volunteering to go with group one. So long as she and Cousland didn't try to kill each other while fighting darkspawn then so be it.

"I'll take the rearguard, you three are with me." Durin offered and gazed towards the captain and soldier as if daring them to try and run. Lealion on the other hand, was all too eager to Mairon's satisfaction.

"Then the rest of us will be in the vanwagon." Mahariel said referring to himself Alistair and the trembling dwarven rogue, "Nervous Gimli?"

"I've just never gone into a situation that I didn't think was smart."

"Steal your courage friend," Mahariel assured the former casteless, "It is better to meet fate head on than to hesitate upon the brink."

"Are you all nuts?" Gimli shouted at Mahariel, "Are you actually gonna try to climb a four floor, 150 foot tall tower that's just been overrun with just the ten of us?" Hearing a bark, Brosca reminded that a Mabari Hound was amongst them, "Alright eleven! But really? We need reinforcements!"

"What about them?" Durin added, pointing out the group of soldiers crowded within the ruins. Few weren't unhurt but all of them seemed terrified of what they just fled from.

"We might need those meat shields." Mairon thought aloud, earning a growl from Rabbit, "What? I'm only being honest." The dog continued to look at the mage with a look of sheer and utter disapproval. It's master stood at the base of the ramp, looking straight towards the Tower of Ishal in deep thought. As if he realized something, Cousland lowered the visor of his commemorative helm and marched towards the few dozen survivors of the Ishal garrison.

* * *

No one knew when it had happened.

They were told that it was a vital, but minimally dangerous assignment. Most of these men assigned were newly inducted soldiers from Gwaren who had barely seen enough winters to be counted as men. Some were from other parts, more seasoned in the ways of combat but not nearly enough to account for having fought in a major battle.

They had watched the opening moves of the battle below them with awe and amazement. Their hopes raised when their king charged into the fray.

Those hopes were dashed immediately and replaced by screams of pain and shock. Maybe they came in from the tunnels that had been discovered earlier but were supposed to be barricaded, maybe they climbed the walls and burst in while the garrison was distracted.

Whatever happened, more than half of the garrison lied slaughtered before anyone realized that they were under attack. Anyone lucky or aware enough to survive fled down the stairs as fast as they could. If you were unlucky enough to be higher than the second floor then you were probably already dead. Second or First, then you had a chance, if you were outside then the darkspawn didn't bother stopping you from fleeing.

Out of that garrison, only four dozen at most survived and huddled on the walls on opposite sides of the ramp they had fled down. Coming from the gorge, a small group of what seemed like Grey Wardens had arrived and planned to retake the tower and light the beacon for the Teryn's forces.

Before it happened, the garrison had been excited about the Grey Wardens. They believed that the wardens would help them fight the darkspawn and it would be a glorious victory just like the king said it would. After what they saw, all of that enthusiasm faded. Even if they had a chance, there were only seven wardens, a mage, a dog, and two garrison captains lucky enough to have been on the first level when the attack began.

Not like the others.

"You there! Sons of Ferelden!" One of the wardens, a man who's face was hidden behind his visor, approached the survivors, upon his right arm was the shield of Highever to the north, "I see on your shields the banner of Highever my home, Denerim, Amaranthine and Gwaren! Are these not where Ferelden's greatest sons fought with their last breath when Orlais overwhelmed us over ten generations ago? Yet here you are fleeing in the hour in which our country needs you the most!"

They had heard the stories. Of how their grandfathers and fathers had fought and some had died to liberate their nation from the Empire just to the west beyond the Frostback Mountains. They had been told in their beds of the Battle of White River, where none but fifty survived when they fought to the last man for their homeland. Of how the legendary shield of Highever still bore the scars from when it's wielder fought to his last breath defending the last king to hold Ferelden before the occupation.

Yet here they were, the descendants and successors of their forebearers, now cringing in fear when the road first grew dark and covered in blood. Some could not shake off the fear of what they saw in Ishal true, but ever now they were filled with disgrace at what they had likely brought upon their beloved homeland.

"Do not mistake my words for judgement but nay! Two objectives lie within that tower which I and my fellows must meet with all speed gathered beneath our feet! I sense now that the darkspawn we will face number will above a hundred...too many for us to face and still have the time to light the signal for the most force of Gwaren to seal our victory! I ask not for you to throw away your lives but to stand once more and alongside the Wardens of Grey, charge through the surge of darkness! I call upon you to rise and charge once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more! Or close the wall up with our Ferelden dead!"

Mad man, Champion, Fool, Warden. The soldiers all regarded this man with these varied opinions as they slowly rose to their feet.

"In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility. But when the blast of war blows in our ears then imitate the action of the tiger! Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard favored rage! Then lend the eye a terrible aspect; Let pry through the portage of the head like the Qun cannon; let the brow overwhelm it as fearfully as does a galled rock overhang and jutty his confounded base, swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean. Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide, hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit to his full height. On, you noblest Ferelden!"

Another boulder slammed into the Ostagar ruins as the soldiers felt their courage grow despite the fear that still filled their hearts.

"Dishonour not your mothers; now attest that those whom you call fathers did beget you. Be copy now to men of grosser blood, and teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman!" The yeoman from a farm in South Reach drew his sword upon being called upon by the Warden who spoke to them, "Whose limbs were made in Denerem, show us here the mettle of your pasture; let us swear that you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not! For there is none of you so mean and base that hath not noble luster in your eyes. I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, straining upon the start!"

"The game's afoot!" The Warden turned from the soldiers and towards the ramp from which echoed the cries of the darkspawn beyond it, "Follow your spirit, and upon this charge cry 'God for Shatele, Ferelden, and King Cailan!' "

"Shatele! Ferelden! And King Cailan!" Their spirits remustered by this warrior, the survivors of the Ishal Garrison charged up the ramp, led by the warrior who had invigorated their spirits with the power of his words and courage.

* * *

"Sure knows how to move a crowd." Lily smirked and followed after the reinvigorated soldiers alongside Mairon, who didn't look like he approved of having the garrison re-enter the battle within their will.

"Nice speech, I bet he read it somewhere." Brosca remarked ran alongside Mahariel flanking Alistair. They instinctively decided to let the reinvigorated soldiers take the brunt of the inevitable defense and then pushed through that battle to enter the Tower. Least that was what Brosca thought the plan was.

"At least the meat shields are more willing." Mairon murmered as the garrison charged wildly into the darkspawn practically waiting for them within the ground behind the ramp. Mairon even "blessed" one of the first into the fray with a special surprise for the darkspawn who would inevitably surround and overwhelm him.

"Let's hope they last the night." Aeducen muttered as he led the captains and Mairon's mage friend up the ramp and into the battle that had already broken out.

"They won't." Gilead said in answer to Aeducan's comment. He was no fool, bravery and courage would get you no where unless Mythal dictated for you to live. If not, then Falon'Din would guide their mislead souls.

If Falon'Din deems the shemlen worthy which Gilead very much doubted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes:
> 
> "Once more unto the Breach" is one of the greatest speeches of all time...it can even motivate little boys to eat spinach for crying out loud! So should we surprised that it roused horribly demotivated and mentally scarred soldiers into a charge that they probably won't last the night to tell about?
> 
> Did anyone else think Alistair was talking about the Riverdance instead of Remigold? Is River dance really that bad?
> 
> Kuddos to anyone who catches the DM of the Rings reference!

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes:
> 
> Right then...what I'm trying to go for as you read is a mix of genuine drama with audacious humor. I may fail horribly in the attempt, but I'm sure we'll both have fun seeing what kind of mess I make.
> 
> In case having all six origins present wasn't a tip, a few things may change in future occurances from how they went in the game. Again, this is a parody of Dragon Age so don't expect it to be more than 80% faithful to source material.
> 
> As for the storyteller, I'll leave that for you to figure out.
> 
> The singing, inspired by a rough animation for "Looking for Group" called "This is War", but since it wasn't complete, I merged it with the rest of the lyrics from "A Whole New World." First attempt at this kind of thing so I'm sure if it will translate well.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!
> 
> *1=Sten disapproved (-8)


End file.
